Surprises
by ilovebuffythevampireslayerandharrypotter
Summary: Not your typical harry potter story. long and worthwhile. all your normal harry potter characters, but with my own characters as well. GINNYDRACO RONHERMIONE HARRYCHO
1. The Funeral

Chapter 1- The Funeral

"Gotta go to the bathroom… gotta go to the bathroom…" Harry Potter repeated over and over in his mind until the words lost all meaning. He and Dudley had just spent the past two hours celebrating their graduation from their fifth years at school by having a soda drinking contest, which Harry won. Sadly, it was a pyrrhic victory. Harry had set a personal record by chugging down fifty-three cans of soda, and now he had to let it out… but where?

The restaurant in which the two of them had held the contest was just a small diner, it had no bathrooms, and it was on a busy street, with very few other businesses. All there was were houses, and Harry had to resist the urge to barge into one and demand to use the bathroom. The closest place they could seek refuge was Dudley's house, but that was a little more than a mile away… could they make it?

"Why don't you just use some magic and teleport us back home or something?" asked Dudley, looking extremely red in the face, and almost in pain.

"I can't… I left my wand at home," said Harry, wanting to hit himself in the head for doing so. He had been so used to just having his wand with him wherever he went that he forgot that he actually had to bring it with him in order to have it. Back at Hogwarts, it was normal to have his wand with him wherever he went.

Of course, nothing like that would be normal to us, only to Harry and the rest of the wizarding world. You see, despite what you may think from the contest, Harry Potter is not a normal boy. He is a fifteen year old, going on sixteen, wizard student at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. There, he among many other students learn how to perform fabulous magic, and gain powers that could help them in dangerous situations, everyday life… or situations much like the one Harry was in now.

"Arg, if I had my wand I could just summon us a toilet or something," groaned Harry and he walked slowly forward, the pain growing with each step.

"Oh, there has to be a place somewhere around here," said Dudley, gripping his stomach and desperately turning his head in all directions.

Harry couldn't help but smile. This was his and Dudley's first time out doing something together, and actually enjoying each other's company. For the past five years during summer vacations at Hogwarts, and for ten years before then, Dudley's family, the Dursley's, watched Harry. His parents were killed by the most terrible and vicious dark wizard in over a century: Voldemort. He attacked their house one night, to try and steal Harry from his parents. Both of his parents died in the attack, but Harry managed to survive due to his mother sacrificing her life for his. When Voldemort performed the killing curse on Harry, like he had done on hundreds of others, it just rebounded off of the invisible shield of love, and gave Harry only a small scar on his forehead.

When the curse rebounded back to Voldemort, it nearly killed him, turning him into a feeble spirit that wandered the world for thirteen years, trying to regain his former power. At the end of Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, Voldemort managed to resurrect himself, and rose to become even more horrible than before. Now, instead of trying to kill Harry, he has been trying to recruit him into his army of darkness.

Up until now, Harry hadn't stopped worrying about Voldemort. But, at this moment, he had more pressing matters at hand; like his exploding bladder.

"Oh man, we've got to find a place quick!" yelled Dudley and Harry at the same time, surprising each other. After a quick laugh, they returned to their previous states, and continued looking.

Suddenly, a place appeared before them. It was the most glorious place in the world. It shone its magnificent light, becoming the greatest building of all. It was like a mirage in a desert, it was salvation in a city. It was…

"A funeral home!" exclaimed Harry, pointing it out to Dudley. His face suddenly perked up.

"Oh yeah, they have to have 'facilities' in there!" he said, looking happier than Harry had ever seen him. With every ounce of energy in them, the two boys ran toward the building, gritting their teeth, and trying to stop their eyes from watering. Finally, after what felt like hours, they reached the front door and burst inside.

"May I help you… gentlemen?" asked a man at a desk in front of them. At first, he had a pleasant tone, but then once he saw the condition of Harry and Dudley's clothes (not at all appropriate for the place they were in) he immediately stuck his massive nose high in the air, stood up, and put on a snobbish attitude.

"Yes, do you have a bathroom anywhere?" gasped Harry.

"Well yes, but they are only for people visiting the deceased," said the man, sticking his nose, if it was possible, higher into the air. "Are you here to pay your respects?"

"Um…" stuttered Harry.

"Yes… yes of course," interjected Dudley. "We're here to… um… see grandma! Yeah, right! Grandma!" The man put his nose down slightly.

"Oh really? Well, Mrs. Perenelle is still accepting visitors," he said, sitting down and pointing his arm in the direction of a long hallway. "You may go see her."

"Thanks," groaned Harry and Dudley together quickly, running off as fast as they could.

"What did you think you were doing?" demanded Harry, elbowing Dudley in the side. "What if they didn't have any dead women? What then? Where would 'grandma' be?"

"I dunno," shrugged Dudley. "We'd just run away I guess. Sometimes you've got to take a chance. I did, and it paid off!"

"We're lucky it did," said Harry. "Now where's the bathroom?" Both of them turned their heads in every direction, scanning the hallway, trying to find the familiar signs of a lavatory. Suddenly, Dudley tapped Harry on the back, gasping that he saw one. They ran over to it, faster than they had ever run in their lives; even faster, for Harry, than when he was trying to get away from Voldemort.

After several minutes, both boys left the bathroom, their tongues hanging out, feeling greatly relieved. Harry put his hand on Dudley's shoulder.

"Let's never do that again," he said.

"Well, just don't forget your wand next time and we'll be okay."

"Hey Dudley, what should we do about… her?" asked Harry, pointing to the room that the woman was in that they were supposed to be seeing as they walked by it.

"What about her?"

"Well, it's thanks to her that we were able to use the bathroom. The least we could do is thank her."

"I guess so… let's just make it quick."

The two of them quickly popped into the small, slightly decorated room. Harry was surprised, however, at the lack of flowers or pictures. It was as if no one had been there, as if no one cared that she had died.

"Look at this," said Dudley, reading the guest book. "No one's been here yet, and according to this, the wake ends in just a few minutes. Where is everyone?"

"Maybe she didn't have any friends or family," suggested Harry, walking over to the open coffin. He looked in, and saw an extremely old woman inside. Her hair was pure white, with a small golden crown, and she looked at least one hundred years old, if not more. Her face was just a peach colored prune, and there were so many wavy wrinkles in her arms and hands, it was not hard to imagine someone surfing on them.

"Well… thanks," whispered Harry to her, backing away slowly. "Heh, you saved our lives…. Ready to go Dudley?"

"Yep," he said, putting down a pen.

"What were you doing with that?" asked Harry.

"I just put down our names in the guest book," he responded. "To make our story more believable.."

"Good thinking. Alright, let's go."

Both of them walked out of the home, trying to look like they were mourning. The man at the front appeared to have been satisfied with their look, he just nodded and went back to his work as they passed by.

"I hope you found your visit… relieving," said the man.

"Oh yes, it was very relieving," said Harry, trying not to burst out laughing as they walked out of the door.

The two of them walked the rest of the way back to Dudley's house, still laughing and reminiscing about their little adventure. Just when they were reliving the best part, Mrs. Figg, their old neighbor (who happened to be a witch and a teacher at Hogwarts) shouted out to them.

"Hello Harry!" she yelled from her door, walking outside.

"Hello Mrs. Figg," said Harry, walking over to her.

"Oh… hello there Dudley," she said. "Not used to seeing you two together."

"Yeah, me and Harry have kind of…become friends since last summer."

"Oh, well that's nice."

"What did you want to tell me, Mrs. Figg?" asked Harry.

"Oh yes! Well, I wanted to tell you that I will not be teaching this year at Hogwarts."

"What? Why not?" asked Harry, feeling extremely upset. "You were one of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers I've ever had… the entire school has ever had!"

"Well, teaching just isn't my thing, Harry. I much prefer actually being out there fighting the dark forces than teaching how to do it. I only did it last year because there were no others willing to do it, and I felt as though I owed that school something. But, you don't have to worry; someone just as good, if not better than me is taking my place."

"Oh I doubt that," said Harry. "But who is?"

"Professor Quirrell."

"What?" yelled Harry, almost knocking himself and Mrs. Figg over. "But, he died five years ago! He was a servant to Voldemort!"

"Oh no no no no no," said Mrs. Figg, waving her arms. "That was Larry Quirrell. This is Jerry Quirrell, his twin brother."

"He had a twin brother?" asked Harry.

"Yes, and you know how they say when twins are born, one is supposedly evil, and the other is good? Well, before I knew the Quirrell children, I never believed that. But, they are a perfect example of that theory. Larry was foul, and Jerry is lovely."

"Well, I hope so," said Harry, still not feeling too sure. He personally fought Quirrell at the end of his first year at Hogwarts, and it was not a very pleasant experience, nor was it especially easy. "But why are you telling me now?"

"Harry, unlike students, teachers do not have the summers off. Me, among many others, are still quite busy at work, trying to keep the world we live in a safe one. I will be gone for the rest of summer, and wouldn't have a chance to tell you. I figured it would be better for you to hear it from me rather than just find out on the first day of school."

"Oh okay," said Harry. "But, one more thing. Is Snape going to teach Potions again this year, or is someone else?" Mrs. Figg let out a laugh.

"I'm afraid so, Harry," she said. "Snape will be back."

"Too bad," sighed Harry. "I lose a good teacher and gain a bad one, both in the same year. It'd be nice if Lupin could come back… or Sirius."

"I don't think Sirius will be coming back anytime soon," she groaned. "Ever since last year, with Cornelius Fudge having been revealed for what he was, the Ministry of Magic has been extremely desperate to show that they can do something right. So, they went back to their old attempt at catching Sirius."

"He's evaded them before, I'm sure he can do it again."

"I'm not so certain, Harry," she admitted. "This time, the Ministry is using very advanced magic to find him; especially one spell, the Possession Position Spell. If they get a hold of something that they know belongs to Sirius, they can immediately find him no matter where he is on Earth. I've heard he's trying to give most of his stuff away to his most trusted friends to try and avoid it."

"I hope they don't get him…" said Harry, feeling a little worried.

"Now don't fret too much," said Mrs. Figg. "I do not want you to lose sleep over this."

"Speaking of which…" moaned Harry, trying to indicate that he wanted to leave.

"Ah yes, it is getting late," said Mrs. Figg, walking back to her door. "I'll see you boys later!"

"Goodbye Mrs. Figg," yelled Harry, running up to the door to the Dursley's house alongside Dudley. "And… good luck!"

"Who's Snape?" asked Dudley when Harry opened the door, having a very dumbfounded look on his face. Harry merely laughed as they walked in. Dudley was so oblivious to Harry's world, it was funny.

"Where have you two been?" scorned Harry's Aunt Petunia the second they stepped inside, as if she had just been standing there, waiting to pounce.

"Will you shut it mom," said Dudley, closing the door. "I'll be sixteen in just a few days, I think I can take care of myself."

"Well of course you can take care of yourself in a normal situation, Dudley," she said. "But, whenever… he's around (she pointed to Harry) the situation can never be normal." Dudley just sighed at her response. Unlike him, the rest of the Dursleys had not yet come to respect the fact that Harry was a wizard, and nothing was going to change that. Dudley waved his arm, indicating to Harry to come into the living room and partake in their favorite activity (even more than soda chugging): watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

"Did I tell you watching this movie saved me during a test last year?" asked Harry.

"Hah! and they said memorizing it would never pay off!"

"Oh yeah, and there's something else I've been meaning to tell you Dudley… oh… what was it…?"

"Well, out with it!" he said, taking the movie out of its cover.

"Oh… it was…. Oh man, it's on the tip of my tongue!" said Harry, snapping his fingers.

"Come on! Use your magic or something to remember!"

"Oh yeah! That's it, I remember now!"

"What is it?"

"Dudley… you're a wizard."


	2. Dobby Again

Chapter 2- Dobby Again

Dudley dropped the video to the floor, and he stayed squatted there, with his mouth opened wide. Harry knew he should have waited for a better time… but this was the best he could think of.

"I'm a… what?" stuttered Dudley.

"You're a wizard, like me," said Harry, trying to stay calm.

"But- but… how could I… be a wizard?" Harry tried not to smile. Dudley was reacting to the new the same way he did when he was told that he was one too.

"I can assure you that you are."

"But… I don't go to that school of yours, and- and… I've never done anything… magical. And how could I be… that way… with parents like mine?"

Harry sighed. Voldemort had told him the answers to all the same questions at the end of last year when he was holding Harry captive, and he didn't really feel like having to repeat it all over again. But, he had to. He had brought this new burden to Dudley, and he had to try and begin to relieve it.

"Well Dudley, to answer your first question, the reason you don't attend Hogwarts is because Voldemort somehow changed the attendance sheet for the new first years, when it was your time to come, so that your name was not on it."

"Why did he do that?"

"I never told you about the Kinsafe Charm put on this house, did I?"

"Um… no?"

"I guess not then," sighed Harry. "Well, when I was brought here, Dumbledore put the charm on the house so that as long as I was around family, Voldemort could not touch me. Now, if you came to Hogwarts with me, I'd still have that protection at school, which is something Voldemort definitely did not want."

"Oh, okay. I see," said Dudley, wide-eyed and not looking like he did 'see' at all. "But still, how can I be magical? I've never done any magic and my parents certainly aren't!"

"Well, I'm not sure how to say this, but your mom is a witch, Dudley."

Dudley didn't say anything, he just merely continued to stare at Harry, with a drop of drool slowly falling down from his mouth. Harry decided to keep on talking.

"You know that your mom and mine are twins, but what you don't know, is that their father is Voldemort." Harry stopped there for a second. The thought just occurred to him: Voldemort was his grandfather. He shuddered at the thought. "It's just by chance that he chose to help my mom out at a young age and give her a magic book to read before she even started school, giving her a huge advantage. When the time came for new students to be chosen, Lily so overshadowed Petunia, that they just forgot about her, and she never came to school. So, just because she never went to Hogwarts doesn't mean she lost her powers."

"But why doesn't she use magic now?" asked Dudley, quietly and slowly.

"After a while, I guess Hogwarts discovered their mistake and they wiped her memory, making her forget she was ever a witch. But, yet again, that didn't take away her powers, and when she gave birth to you, you gained some of them."

"So I'm… a wizard?" gasped Dudley.

"That's what I said."

"Wow," said Dudley, slowly getting up and sitting in a chair. "So… am I going to be coming to Hogwarts then?"

"Err…" stuttered Harry, he hadn't really thought about that. He had been meaning to owl Dumbledore. "I think so."

"Oh man… I don't know what to say," said Dudley, starting to look a little better, and possibly excited. "So, I'll be able to make fire, and summon brooms, and even control the weather?"

"Um… sure," said Harry, not wanting to get Dudley's hopes too high. There was always the chance that he wouldn't be coming. But, it couldn't hurt to get him started a little. "In fact, let's practice some right now!"

"That sounds like a great idea," said Dudley, jumping up from off his chair, and dropping the video on the floor, ready to start exploring his new life.

"That's it! Now you're getting the hang of it!" said Harry to Dudley, after his seventieth attempt at trying to perform a simple Lumos Spell resulted in some light. Even though he was using Harry's wand, and was therefore not as powerful as if he had used one that was his own, Harry hadn't expected it to make that much of a difference.

"Hey! I made some light!" squealed Dudley with excitement.

"Good job," said Harry, giving a small yawn. They had been practicing basic spells all day long inside the living room, and it was now extremely late. "But, I think it's time to call it a night. We'll practice some more tomorrow."

"Alright, Harry," he squeaked, giving him his wand back. Harry felt much stronger and more confident when he had his wand; it felt great to have it back.

"Good night, Harry," yawned Dudley, walking up the stairs to his room.

"See you later," said Harry, for one of the first times in his life, actually looking forward to the rest of his summer vacation.

Each day, for the next several weeks, Harry and Dudley practiced magic. Of course, they only did it while not in the presence of Dudley's parents: Harry's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon. Hearing them walk through the door, returning from whatever they were doing all day (work or mindless gossiping), was the low of the two boys' day.

Finally, when Dudley was able to perform most spells that an average First Year would be able to do, Harry decided it was time to send Dumbledore a letter, to see if Dudley would be able to come to Hogwarts next year. So, when Uncle Vernon walked through the door and their lesson was over, Harry decided it would be a good time to write it.

"I've got some things to do," said Harry, trying to find an excuse. "I'll see you later Dudley. Keep working on memorizing those spells names!"

"I will," he said, engaged in reading one of Harry's schoolbooks, staying in a position that would allow him to quickly hide it if one of his parents entered the room. Harry scooted up the stairs as fast as he could, and when he arrived in his room, he ripped out a piece of parchment from one of his notebooks on which he would write the letter. After just a few seconds of making a mental outline, he wrote:

Dear Professor Dumbledore,

How are you? I am fine here, living with the Muggles. I must say, it has been one of my better vacations, due to my new friendship with my cousin Dudley. Speaking of which, I'm not sure if I forgot to mention this to you or not, but at the end of last year, Voldemort told me that my Aunt Petunia was a witch, and that Dudley is now a wizard. Hearing this, I am wondering if it is possible for Dudley to begin at Hogwarts, since he has the magical power, all he needs is the proper teaching.

Please reply soon.

Sincerely,

Harry Potter

Harry reread it, to make sure it sounded good, and it sufficed. He folded it up, and walked over to his white owl, Hedwig, who was asleep in her cage. Harry opened the small door to the cage, put his hand on her, and shook the owl gently. Her eyes opened, and she gave a quiet hoot.

"I need you to send this to Dumbledore," ordered Harry, attaching the letter to her leg. Immediately, Hedwig stood up and ruffled her feathers, trying to look important and superior. Harry gave her a small pat, and she nipped his finger. He stepped back and she flew out of the window.

Harry watched her fly away for a few seconds, until she was out of sight. He crossed his arms, smiled to himself, turned around, and gave a yell.

"AAAHHH!"

"Hello Harry Potter!" squeaked an all too familiar creature.

"Dobby!" gasped Harry loudly, clutching his chest and trying to regain himself. "You- you scared me! Don't sneak up on people like that."

"I is very sorry sir," squeaked Dobby. Harry looked at him, and he looked no different from the last time they met, except for the clothes he was wearing. On his arms, he had on some rubber gloves; yellow on the left, and blue on the right. Over his body, he had extremely loose rainbow suspenders, and over those, on his legs, he had very baggy black pants, something you'd expect a punk kid to wear. Harry knew Dobby liked to

flaunt his freedom, but he'd never seen him do it to this extent. "But, I is having to sneaks up on you! I is having to tell you something very important!"

"What is it this time, Dobby?" sighed Harry. Last time they had met like this, in Harry's bedroom, Dobby had threatened Harry not to return to Hogwarts.

"I is very sorry to say this, sir," he squeaked, "but you cannot returns to Hogwarts this year!" Harry sighed.

"Dobby… we've been through this before."

"No!" yelled Dobby, much more forcefully than Harry had ever heard him speak. "No! This times is completely different! This times, if Harry Potter is returning to Hogwarts, he will certainly die, along with many others!"

"Why, what is it this time?" asked Harry in a bored voice. "Has the Chamber of Secrets been opened again?"

"No no no! I is not able to say!"

"But Dobby, you don't have a master anymore. You are a free elf now. You can say whatever you want, whenever you want."

"Not really, Harry Potter, sir. I is still having masters. But, we does not have time to talk now! We is having to leave… now!"

"I'm not leaving, Dobby," said Harry. "Last time, nothing serious happened to me, and nothing will happen this time either. You can either tell me what the threat is now, or let me find out for myself later. Either way, I'm going back to Hogwarts."

"If you is not coming because you is wanting to, you is coming because I am forcing you to!" said Dobby quite loudly. He suddenly put both if his arms out, one on top of the other, with some space in between. He closed his eyes, and began to shake a little, and a blue orb appeared between his hands. The elf then yelled some sort of incoherent chant, and the orb grew ten times its size and imploded on itself, creating a small black hole that was sucking in everything in the room.

Harry was immediately drawn toward it, but he lashed out for the end post of his bed, and held on, his legs high in the air, being drawn into the hole. His entire room was spinning, and everything was being sucked to the middle. On top of that, there was a deafening windy noise, like a hundred tornadoes.

"Dobby! Stop this!" yelled Harry as loud as he could, still holding on.

"Not unless you is coming with me!" said Dobby, as clear as a bell. He was standing in a corner of the room, unaffected by his own spell.

Harry had to think of something. His bed was beginning to shake too, it was being sucked into the hole along with everything else. He had to get out of the room! Harry desperately looked around for anything that would help him.

Then he saw it: his broomstick! Of course, why hadn't he thought of that before? Harry slowly climbed his way up the bed sheets and towards the broom that was still stationary where it was. Apparently since it was magical, the spell had no effect on it, and since it was a Firebolt, it didn't even phase it. Harry continued climbing along his blankets, and soon reached the broom. Just as the bed was beginning to shake, and getting ready to join the swirling mass, Harry made a daring leap from his where he was to the broom, and grabbed on tight.

"See you later Dobby!" yelled Harry, mounting the Firebolt.

"No! Harry Potter cannots leave!" screamed Dobby as Harry raced out of the window, and into the open air. He took a deep breath, filled his lungs, and then exhaled it

all out. Flying was the greatest, and most natural to Harry of everything in the wizarding world. It was the most exhilarating thing in the universe… well, at least the second most. There were only two things in the world that could compare to flying on a broom: flying as a gryffin through the air, and being with Cho Chang, the greatest girl in Hogwarts.

Ever since he first saw her in his second year, Harry had had a crush on Cho. However, he had never really done anything about it until last year, when the two of them went out on their first date, and had silently proclaimed each other boyfriend and girlfriend.

As for flying as a gryffin, during his last year, Harry had become an Animagus, that is, a wizard who can transform into an animal without the use of a wand. Harry's gryffin was a half lion and half bird creature, possessing the greatest attributes of both; it was truly a beast to behold.

Harry suddenly snapped out of his little daydream, and returned to the real world. He found himself flying several hundred feet above the ground, looking down at the tiny buildings, cars, and ant-like people. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea where he was going. He certainly had to pick a destination. He couldn't return to the Dursleys, at least for a while. Not until he was sure Dobby wouldn't return… which was never. He couldn't fly all the way to Hogwarts… he didn't even know where it was. The last place left he could go, which in this case was definitely not least, was his best friend Ron Weasley's house. Last year, Harry had found himself in a very similar situation (fleeing from the Dursleys) and went to Ron's place for a while. Why not do the same thing again?

Harry sped off in the direction to the Weasley's house, hoping he was going the right way since he didn't have a map this time.

After a few wrong turns and dead ends, (which was very odd since he was in the air) Harry eventually found his way. Once he was on the right path, it wasn't long before he arrived at Ron's house.

It looked just like Harry remembered it: a house that looked far too tall, and at too much of an angle to one side. If such a thing existed in the Muggle world, it would surely fall over within an instant. But, things such as it were common in the wizarding world in which Harry lived in.

Harry flew down towards the front door, dismounted his broom, and 'rang' the doorbell that made the entire house flash bright for just a second. Harry slung his broom over his shoulder, and wondered who would answer the door.

If there was one thing that set the Weasleys apart from any other wizarding family… it would be two things: the fact that everyone in their house had bright red hair that made it appear as though there was an inferno whenever they had a family picture, and the insane amount of children they had. As far as Harry knew, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had seven children, six boys and one girl. Five of the six boys, however, had already graduated from Hogwarts, and only Ron and Ginny (the girl) were still in it.

Just then, the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley appeared in the doorway. She was a kind, plump lady who was always ready to welcome anyone and everyone. Her face immediately lit up when she saw Harry standing in front of her.

"Oh hello Harry dear!" she said, standing back and opening the door some more for him to walk through. "Come in, come in! What brings you here?"

"House elf trouble," groaned Harry, walking inside.

"Ooh, if I had a nickel for each time I heard that excuse! I'd have… well, let's see here… three nickels!"

"Um… that's good," said Harry, rolling his eyes slightly. As he did, he got a full view of the main room that was usually crowded with Weasleys during the summer, but for some reason, empty right now. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh," sighed Mrs. Weasley. "Fred and George have finally officially opened up their business down in Diagon Alley. The two of them and Percy are there now, working."

"Their store is open?" asked Harry, feeling very excited. For the past two years, Fred and George had been wanting to open up a joke shop, and due to a very generous donation from Harry, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes became a reality. "I can't wait to see it!"

"Yes, neither could Ginny. She's down there now, too."

"But… why is Percy helping? I thought he was working for the Ministry."

"Oh, with all that happened to Crouch a while ago, Percy lost all will to continue working in that field. No, he left that some time ago, and has started helping Fred and George with their business."

"Is Ron here?" asked Harry, sounding hopeful.

"Oh yes, he's in no rush to see the shop. He's rather enjoying being away from the chaos of their insane inventions, and I don't disagree. He's upstairs in his room by the way, playing with his cards."

"Oh, the chocolate frog cards?"

"No, these are something different. With these new ones, you actually play games. Ron seems to enjoy it, but I Haven't really looked into it yet. Why don't you go on up and see for yourself?"

"I think I will," said Harry, running up the crooked stairs to Ron's room. He reached the top rather quickly, and threw open the door, revealing Ron's extremely orange room, and Ron himself, sitting on his bed with playing cards all around him.

"Hello Ron," said Harry. Ron immediately looked up and waved to him.

"Hello Harry!" he said. "What are you doing here? Muggle trouble?"

"Nah, Dobby."

"Hmm, I see," he said, returning to the cards.

"What'cha got there?"

"Oh, it's a new card game," said Ron, looking up slightly. "It's really fun, and it has all sorts of real people and things in it."

"Have you got a million Dumbledores again?" asked Harry, sitting down next to him on the bed.

"No, he's one of the rarest ones," said Ron, still organizing the cards. Harry picked one up, and read it off.

"Let's see here: 'Boggart, power of four' . Well, there might not be much text, but wow! The artwork looks very nice, and they really are based on real things! Is it a fun game?"

"You bet," said Ron, grabbing the card out of Harry's hand and putting it in a pile. "Want to learn how to play?"

"Sure," said Harry eagerly, eyeing all of the cards hungrily. It was as if they had some sort of drawing power on him, beckoning him to touch them, and mocking him for not doing so.

"Alright, well there's two types of cards: fighters and effects. The fighters… well, do the fighting, and the effects help you and hurt your opponents. Each turn, you get to use two total actions, made up of playing fighters or using effects, or even drawing additional cards. Then, your fighters attack your opponent's fighters, and once you have no fighters in play, all the damage comes to you, that is, your deck."

"Sounds kind of complex," said Harry, his head beginning to spin.

"Nah, not really. No more than Quidditch anyway. One you play a game or two, you'll get the hang of it."

"Can we play a game?" asked Harry, waning to try it out.

"No, I don't have enough cards yet, and you need sixty for each deck."

"Oh, too bad."

"But… I think I remember dad once telling me that he had quite a collection."

"What? You mean, this card game had been around before?"

"Oh yeah. This cards game used to be the most popular one, but then the chocolate frog cards took over for a while. Now though, these ones are back and better than ever!"

"Do you know where he kept them?"

Ron put his hand up and began stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"Well I'm not exactly sure, but I do have an idea! Let's go downstairs!" Ron jumped up from his bed, causing most of his cards to fall on the floor. He ran over to the door, and shouted down with his friend.

"Alright! I'll be down in a second! Just let me write a note to Dudley telling him where I am!" Harry scanned Ron's extremely cluttered desk for a quill and a spare piece of parchment. He found a tattered pigeon feather under a pile of books, and ripped out a sheet of parchment from one of Ron's old books. He quickly scribbled down a note to Dudley, telling him he had some 'business' with Ron, and had to leave abruptly, but he should be back later.

Harry folded the letter up, and walked over to Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, who was fluttering about in his small cage, looking extremely excited at the hope of sending a letter.

"I need you to send this to Dudley," said Harry, opening the door to the cage, and attaching the letter to Pigwidgeon's small leg. "He's a Muggle that lives in Surrey. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding him, just look for the most normal-looking house you can see and that's it." Pigwidgeon puffed his feathers out, and gave a funny sort of salute. Harry burst out laughing; he looked like a small and extremely fluffy kid who had his cheeks puffed out. A second later, though, Pigwidgeon was out the window and on his way.

Harry, upon seeing that his letter was okay, began walking downstairs to meet Ron. He ran down, as fast as he could, eager to see what Ron had found. When he got downstairs, Harry saw him sitting in a giant red chair in a corner of the house Harry had never really taken any notice of before. Around the chair were two massive shelves, each filled to the point of overflowing with books, like a mini-library. Ron was engaged in reading a particularly large one at the moment, and was flipping through it very quickly.

"What are you reading?" asked Harry, walking over to the chair.

"Reading? No, I'm looking," said Ron, keeping his head down. "This is a picture album; this entire library is filled with picture albums."

"Ohh," said Harry, eyeing the shelves and wondering how many thousands of pictures there were.

"Here, grab one and look for some cards," said Ron, blindly taking a book down and throwing it to Harry. "I know they're in one of these." Harry walked over and cracked open the book. Revealed inside was a single, full page that was like a miniature television screen. Like most wizard pictures, the people and things inside were moving. This picture showed a scene of a young Ron running around in the yard in his diaper, chasing after Fred and George, squealing the entire time.

"Aw, you were such a cute baby!" said Harry sarcastically. Ron peered over and sighed at the sight himself of the picture.

"Keep looking," he said sternly, turning the page for Harry and putting his own album away and getting a new one. Harry laughed and looked at the next sheet. This time, instead of there being one giant image taking up the entire page, there were nine smaller pictures, each depicting a different event.

"Wow," said Harry, gazing at each of the photos. He put his fingers out at the top middle one, a picture of two small boys, with red hair of course, playing on a swing set. Harry had no idea who they were, it could be any of the six Weasley boys. But, as Harry looked closer, he saw in the bottom right corner of the picture a girl with red hair, and she looked older than the other two in the picture. As Harry looked even closer, he saw that the girl was writing something in the sand… a single word: "Jamie". Harry put his hand over the picture, and swung the book over, to try and ask Ron who the boys and the girl were in the picture. But, just as the album was going through the air, the picture that Harry had his hand on fell out.

"Oh Harry!" said Ron, sounding annoyed. "Try not to make any pictures fall out!"

"Sorry," apologized Harry, bending over to pick them up. "Wait a minute…." Where Harry had thought only one picture had fallen out, there were actually two now. Harry picked them up, and looked at them; one of the images was the one he had looked at before, the picture of the two boys and the girl, but the other one was completely different. It was a photo of a much younger Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Harry guessed at least ten or fifteen years, with a single, small girl in front of both of them. Who was she?

"Hey Ron," said Harry, still looking at the picture. "Who is this?" Ron looked up from his album, and glanced at the picture.

"Oh that's… wait a second," said Ron, looking surprised. He dropped his book, and walked over to Harry, still looking at the picture. He took the image into his hand, and examined it up close. "Hmm, I've never seen this picture before."

"Well, isn't it just one of Bill or Charlie?" asked Harry. It was hard to tell the gender of a baby at that age, it could have been a boy. But, Ron shook his head, and showed him the picture, pointing to a calendar in the background.

"No. Bill was born in 1975, and Charlie was born in 1977. The calendar in the back here says the year is 1974. Neither of them were alive at that time."

There was a few seconds of an awkward silence.

"So… who is that girl?" asked Harry. "I mean, she's definitely a Weasley."

"Yeah, just look at that hair! But I have no idea who he is…. The only girl in this family is Ginny."

"Well, why don't you just ask your mom?"

"Good idea," said Ron, sounding serious and standing up. The two of them, with Ron carrying the picture, walked over to Mrs. Weasley who was cooking something for dinner.

"What can I help you with boys?" she asked, stirring something in a pot.

"Mom, who is this?" asked Ron, showing her the picture. "That is, the girl in this picture?" Mrs. Weasley lazily looked over, and turned around, with her pot in her hand. But, when her eyes met the photo, she dropped the container, causing whatever was inside to fall to the floor with a gigantic crash. Her eyes grew wide, and she snatched the photo out of Ron's hand.

"Mom, are you going to do something about the-" Ron was cut off.

"Where did you get this?" she demanded, not looking at all her normally kind self. Her face was all scrunched up and red, and reminded Harry more of an angry rhino than a loving mother.

"It… it was in the photo album…." stuttered Ron.

"I thought I told Arthur to hide this.…" fumed Mrs. Weasley quietly to herself.

"Hide… what, mom?" asked Ron.

"Nothing! Nothing at all!" she said, trying to look cheerful again. She tapped the spill on the floor with her wand, and it magically cleaned itself up. She stood back before her stove, and inconspicuously crumpled up the picture in her hand. "Nothing at all dears, now go run along and-"

"No mom," said Ron, cutting her off. "Who is the girl in that picture?"

"Oh my! Look at the time!" gasped Mrs. Weasley, looking at a non-existent watch on her wrist. "I had better go do… something." She began shuffling off, but Ron looked as though he was not going to take no for an answer. He reached into his pocket, and took out his wand.

"Locomotor Mortis!" he yelled, pointing his wand at his mother. Immediately, her legs magically fused together, and she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Thank goodness Dumbledore is letting us use magic at home now," whispered Ron to Harry. Mrs. Weasley, however, was not looking nearly as happy.

"Ronald Weasley!" she yelled, looking furious. "You had better take this spell off of me before I-"

"No! I want you to tell us who this girl is in the picture!" yelled Ron, unfolding the crumpled image, and pointing to the unknown child. "Evidently, it's someone important, or you would have told us by now!"

"Ron, take this spell off of me and-"

"Don't make me go and get the Veritaserum," said Ron, pointing his wand at his mother. Harry didn't know how to feel, he was trying to keep quiet. It was very exciting and horrible at the same time what was going on. Mrs. Weasley gave a loud sigh.

"I knew someone would find out eventually," she said quietly.

"Find out? About what?" asked Ron, looking curious.

"Ron," said Mrs. Weasley slowly, "there's something I've both wanted and not wanted to tell you for the past sixteen years. I've wanted to tell the entire family, actually, but I just… couldn't."

"Tell me what? What is it?"

"It is the only secret this family has. The only thing that has ever made this family, at one point, feel weak. It is the greatest loss we had ever faced."

"What is it already? And what does this have to do with the picture?"

"Ron…" said Mrs. Weasley slowly, "you have another sister."


	3. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Inc

Chapter 3- Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Inc.

Ron's mouth practically fell to the floor, along with his wand. Harry as well felt a wave of disbelief and shock come over him. There was another Weasley girl? How could this possibly be?

"But…" stuttered Ron, "I thought there was just me, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ginny. Who else is there?"

"First off," said Mrs. Weasley with a great sigh, "will you please take this ridiculous curse off of me?"

"Yeah yeah, sure," said Ron. Wide-eyed, he bent over for his wand, and removed the Leg-Locker curse from his mother. She rubbed her legs and sat down in the red chair by the library.

"So who is my other sister?" asked Ron, walking over to her. Harry followed.

"That," said Mrs. Weasley, "is a long and not very pleasant tale."

"We've got a few months until we have to return to Hogwarts," said Ron, crossing his arms. "I'm sure that will be enough time to tell it."

"Very well," sighed Mrs. Weasley, slapping her legs. She took a deep breath, and began. "Well, I guess it all starts in the year 1970. That was the year your father and I got married, Ron. It was a lovely ceremony, held in the North Pole, something your father wanted to do. For the next two years, we contemplated having children, what with the state that the wizarding world was in at the time, but decided to go for it anyway. So, in 1973, Jamie was born."

"Jamie? Is that my long-lost sister?"

"Yes, Jamie was her name. Now we, that is your father and I, were perfectly happy with only one child. However, the area in which we lived was not very populated, and except for a few teenagers, Jamie was the only kid. We decided the best way for her to have a playmate was to have another child. So, in 1975, Bill was born, and the two of them were as happy as could be.

"Now, around this time, dark activity was slowing down, and we were actually doing pretty well, financially wise. So, we decided that if we could afford another kid, why not? It would be nice for Jamie and Bill to have another playmate. So, in 1977, Charlie was born, adding to the happiness.

"However, I'm sure as you two know, in a group of three, there is always one that gets left out."

Harry and Ron looked at each other. In their group of three, the two of the and Hermione, it always seemed as though each was getting his or her equal share of attention… right?

"Well, in this case, that was Bill. He was the middle child, and didn't have the glamour of being the oldest, nor the cuteness of the youngest. The only solution we saw for this was to bring yet another child into the world, Percy.

"Now, at this time, Hogwarts was accepting young wizards and witches at the age of ten, if they showed enough talent. Jamie was the most talented witch of her time, and Hogwarts couldn't wait to have her. In 1983, she started at school, and we were left with only three children, and now Percy was the one being left out.

"This is where things all started going wrong… no offense. Arthur and I decided than one more child would be perfect. However, neither of us were prepared for twins. You-Know-Who's rise to power started, and your father had to work extra long hours. It was terrible: Charlie and Bill always asking me for the latest Quidditch supplies, and Percy demanding higher quality books, he could read at that age, all the while, Fred and George were screaming their eyeballs out. I thought nothing else could go wrong… until the day of the fieldtrip.

"Back then, all students at the school could go, not just the upper class wizards and witches. In fact, I think this incident is why they changed that rule."

"Why? What happened? Where did they go?" demanded Ron.

"It was a field trip to the Egyptian pyramids," continued Mrs. Weasley. "We were so happy that Jamie was going, and we even came to Hogwarts the day she left. And today we are so thankful that we did, that was the last time anyone one of us ever saw her."

"What happened? Did she die?"

"Perhaps…" trailed Mrs. Weasley. "No one is positive today. All we know for sure is that she was walking along with her group one second, and then suddenly, she was gone."

"Gone?" gasped Ron.

"Yes. She completely disappeared without a trace. We regret so much only taking that one picture of her, and the other one which had her in the corner. That's why we have so many pictures of you other kids… in case anything ever happened to one of you."

There was another very awkward silence.

"So… why haven't you told any us, mom?" asked Ron slowly and quietly.

"Well, once we found out about Jamie, your father and I were at first heartbroken, and we stayed in that state of complete shock that one can only receive after losing a child for an entire year.

"However, after that yearlong depression, we decided it was time to move on, and the best way to do that, we figured, was to have another daughter. So, two years later, we had another child."

"Yeah, you had me," said Ron. "But wait… I'm not a girl!"

Mrs. Weasley gave a small chuckle.

"I know that, Ron, and that's the reason why we didn't want to tell you. We didn't want you to think that you were a failure to us: that you should have been a girl, but you weren't. Now, since you didn't know, we decided it would be best if the others didn't either, so they didn't go about flaunting their superior knowledge to you. Right now is the first time I have told any one of you kids about Jamie."

"But what about Bill, Charlie, and Percy," said Ron, sounding almost a little annoyed. "Shouldn't they have some memory of Jamie?"

"Oh, they remember her alright," said Mrs. Weasley, rocking in her chair. "But, they don't remember her as their sister. After just a few talks, and whenever the question came up, I convinced them that she was simply a childhood friend who moved away while they were little.

"Ah, how I wish I had old you all this before!" she exclaimed once again. "But, I just didn't want you or even Ginny for that matter to think you were merely replacements, and inferior to the first child…. I'm sorry!"

Ron looked at his mother for a second, she appeared to be ready to burst into tears: both from telling the story, reminding herself of the heartbreak, and for love of her son. Then, Ron just walked up to his mother, and gave her a massive hug, all the way around her.

"It's okay mom," he said. "Just… don't ever do it again!"

"Oh believe me, I won't," she said, standing up after their hug was over. "Now, if you'll please, don't tell the story to any of your brothers or sisters just yet. I want to be the one to tell them if it ever comes up again, not you."

"Alright mom," said Ron, watching her walk back to the kitchen and return to her cooking work.

"Well," said Harry, breaking his silence, "that was a very dramatic moment."

"Extremely," said Ron, returning to the shelves full of albums.

"So… somewhere… out there… you have a sister," said Harry.

"Eh, I doubt it. I mean, what are the odds that she's still alive? Slim to none I'd say."

"Perhaps…" said Harry, reaching up for another book. Then, when he opened this one, hundreds of small cards fell out all over the floor, creating a small, paper pool. "Hey Ron! I think I found your dad's stash of cards!" Ron looked down at the ever growing pile on the floor and grinned.

"Good job there Harry!" he said, tapping the pile of cards with his wand, and making them all teleport inside a small sac. "Now we can really start to have some fun!"

Harry stayed at the Weasley residence for most of the summer, even celebrated his birthday there. Even though it was just Ron, himself, and Mrs. Weasley there the entire time during the day, all of that changed at night when dinner was ready. All of the Weasleys, except for sometimes Charlie, and occasionally Bill, came home at night to partake in the massive feasts that Mrs. Weasley always had ready. All eight of them, Harry, Ron, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Bill, and Ginny, crowded the table and laughed the entire time, due to Fred and George's wacky inventions.

It was during those few funny moments that Harry saw Ginny, for the only time during the entire meal, say something (though he wasn't sure if laughing would be considered talking). She kept to herself most of the time, and Harry wondered if that was because she still had a small crush on him, or if it was because of her new boyfriend: Draco.

Either way, Harry enjoyed spending time there, and his only low point throughout the rest of his summer was when Dumbledore sent him an owl in reply to his letter:

Dear Harry,

I would have to say, I am fine as well. I always love summer, don't you? Even the worst days are the best… I'm so happy I decided to lengthen it a week.

As for your question, I am sorry to say no. Dudley cannot come to Hogwarts. Despite the fact that he has the talent and the desire, he simply is unable to come. I'm not sure if you have learned about it in school yet, but there is such a thing called 'magical ripeness'. That is, the longer a wizard or witch waits to perform his or her first actual spell with a wand, and the more powerful the first spell that is used, the greater that wizard or witch will be.

Now, Dudley has never performed any magic with a wand, and he is five years over the usually starting age for school. This means, he will be at least five times as powerful as an average wizard. We cannot take the chance of having this extremely powerful wizard go over to Voldemort's side. He would be especially easily corrupted and tempted, having had so little experience in the wizarding world.

Once again, I am deeply sorry, but in this day and age, we cannot take the chance.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster

Harry let the letter droop down. So… Dudley wouldn't be coming to Hogwarts with him, Ron and Hermione…. He had been so sure that he would be able to! He shouldn't have gotten his and Dudley's hopes up so high.

"Hey Harry!" called Ron from the other end of the room. "Want to play a game?" He held up two decks of cards and shook them with a smile on his face.

"Sure," said Harry, trying to cheer up. He walked over to Ron, and grabbed one of the decks right out of his hand. "Let's go!"

Harry had gotten extremely good at the card game, which he learned was called Wizard Duel, and had even beaten Ron a few times. Fred, George, Charlie or Bill sometimes even joined in on the fun, creating multiplayer games which were even more exciting than one on one. The only bad part about the game, as Harry was concerned, was that the cards just… stayed cards. If only they could become real….

"Hey you two!" said Fred, during one of those such games. "You still haven't seen the business yet!"

"Yeah, you have to see it," said George, drawing his card.

"What business?" asked Harry, playing a Killing Curse on Bill's dragon.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes of course!" said Fred, countering Harry's curse.

"Oh yeah…" groaned Ron, having his elf attacked by the dragon.

"Well, we'll see it when we go to Diagon Alley for supplies for this year," said Harry, using a Pin Spell on Fred's Balloon-Beast.

"Hey! You popped him!" laughed Fred, throwing his beaten card into the air.

Before Harry knew it, his summer was practically over. There was only a week left of school, and Harry was feeling a little guilty for not visiting Dudley again. He had broken the sad news to him that he would not be coming to Hogwarts through a letter, and he had taken it fairly well. Though slightly disappointed, Dudley had not ever really known much about the wizarding world, so he didn't have much to not look forward to.

Even though Dudley didn't, Harry and Ron needed new school supplies, and the only place to go for them was Diagon Alley. Harry especially needed them, seeing as he had left them all at the Dursley's, and did not feel like seeing Dudley right now. So, the day before the beginning of the new year, the two of them headed there with lists in their hands of what they would need.

"Let's see here…" said Ron, taking out his supply list. Harry looked at his.

Sixth-Year Students Will Require:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6

By Miranda Goshawk

Creatures. Creatures! CREATURES!

By Ilike Topet

What Makes Good Wizards Go Bad

By Gulden Armur II

Changing Others: How To Not Jump Back In Surprise

By Shanjez Toncorps

Magical Origins

By Ekstremle Uld

"Hmm, there's not as many books on this year's list as there were on last year's," observed Harry, eyeing it again. "Looks like I'll be making up for that by buying a new cauldron, quills, parchment…"

"Yeah, well, this year we mostly use the same ones we used last year," said Ron, folding up his list and putting it in his pocket. Harry trusted him, he had already had five other brothers go through the system. If anyone knew more about what to expect at Hogwarts, it was Ron.

The two of them purchased their books as fast as they could, wanting to try and get to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as soon as possible. Even Ron looked a little excited at the thought of it.

Since the two of them had been to Diagon Alley so many times before, it only took them a few minutes to acquire everything they needed: books, quills, ink, parchment, and some new dress robes, just slightly larger sizes of what they already had. They stuffed all of their purchases into magical bags that stayed their same, small size no matter how much stuff you put inside it, and ran over to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"Um… Ron…" said Harry. "Where exactly is it?"

"I'm not really sure," said Ron, looking around. "Fred and George said 'you couldn't miss it', so it has to be around here somewhere." The two of them, hands over their eyes, scanned the area, looking for any sign of the place. All Harry could see, though, were several small shops, and one rather distinct yellow building….

"Hey Ron!" yelled Harry, pointing at the very tall yellow building. "Is that it?" "Let's go see," he said. The two of them ran over to the building, and looked up at it in awe. It was the tallest structure Harry had ever seen, and it was entirely yellow. It looked so fluffy and nice too, it was like a massive marshmallow. And, right above the giant glass door at the bottom of the cylindrical building, there were the words: "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Inc." in bright, multicolored letters. Through the windows that were all around the building, Harry saw many people inside, purchasing and trying out the items. It looked extremely busy.

Harry and Ron walked up to the front door, and it opened for them, just like a Muggle store's would. But, after that, something happened that definitely did not occur at Muggle shops. Below Harry and Ron's feet, there was a sudden burst of air that shot them right up to the ceiling.

"AAAHHH!" both of them yelled. They were now hovering with their heads touching the ceiling. Then, by some invisible force, the two of them were turned one hundred and eighty degrees so that their feet were on the ceiling now, or what was previously the ceiling anyway. Harry expected to fell all the blood rushing to his head, but he felt perfectly fine, as if he was standing right-side up.

"Whoa, what's going on?" asked Ron, rubbing his head.

"I think that… this room is upside down," said Harry, looking around. However, the room looked perfectly normal. In fact, there were others in the room in the same position that Harry and Ron were, buying or testing products, and acting as if it was perfectly normal to be upside down.

"This must be just another one of Fred and George's little tricks, to try and enhance their customer's experience at their shop," said Ron, looking around. "Man, look at all this stuff!"

Now that Harry had gotten over the initial shock of begin flipped, he took a look at all the items available. The walls were covered in hundreds of colored boxes, ranging from the size of a small nut to the size of cars! Scattered among those boxes were also tricks and toys that were not packages, just out for people to sample, and many were doing just that. Among them, Harry saw a red-haired young man with a clipboard, checking off and writing many things. Harry immediately recognized him as Percy.

"Hello there Percy!" yelled Harry, waving his hand. Percy looked up from his work, and waved to the two of them.

"Hey there Harry! Ron, you've finally come to see it! Isn't this place great? Though I don't quite agree with some of Fred and George's little ideas, like flipping the customers upside down when they enter, a few compromises makes everything worth it."

"Makes it all worth what?" asked Harry.

"Makes it all worth having the biggest business in all of Diagon Alley!" exclaimed Percy, throwing his arms into the air, and giving a giant grin. "Just this past week, we've quadrupled our sales, and in the past month, we've made more money than the rest of Diagon Alley put together!" He had a superior-looking expression on his face, and was breathing a little hard too.

"Um… that's great Percy…" said Harry. "But… where are Fred and George?"

"Oh, they're working the cash register," said Percy, returning to his work. Harry and Ron slowly backed away from Percy, and bumped right into the check-out desk. The two of them turned around, and saw Fred and George, working tirelessly, taking transactions. The line for the check-out was so long it went up to the next floor, and money, receipts, and even a few items were flying everywhere. Fred and George, however, looked happier than Harry had ever seen them.

"Hey there Fred! George!" yelled Harry above the excited talk of all the customers. The twins turned and smiled at Harry for a second, and then immediately went back to their work of checking people out.

"Can't you two take a break for a second?" asked Ron.

"We are taking a break," came a voice from behind them. Harry and Ron turned around, and saw the two of them standing right there, drinking some sort of wizard soda.

Harry felt extremely confused.

"But- you were just… the cash register," he mumbled out, pointing in random directions. Fred and George looked at him for a second, then suddenly appeared as though they understood what he was trying to say.

"Oh them?" asked George, pointing to the people that looked exactly like themselves behind the desk. "Yeah, they're our clones. We alternate shifts… it works out well."

"Clones?" asked Harry, sounding very surprised. Last year, he, Ron, and Hermione had had some very nasty incidents with clones. "Isn't that a little… bad?"

Fred shook his head.

"Nah, not really. They're just like regular workers, only they look like us. We pay them, give them a place to live… it works out well."

"Heh, you're lucky that it worked out good for you because when me and Harry here tried to clone-" said Ron, before Harry jabbed him in the side with his elbow, signaling to him to stop.

"That's quite enough, Ron," he said through gritted teeth.

"Hey, how would you like to have the grand tour of this place?" asked George. "It's really all quite amazing!"

"Sure!" said Harry and Ron together, eager to see what inventions the two of them had cooked up.

Fred and George showed them the entire store, and it was even more amazing than Harry had imagined it would be. Each room, like the upside-down entrance, had some sort of special feature. Once of them had a floor mad out of a bouncy, jell-o like substance; another one's ground was like that of a game board, and you could only move certain spaces depending on the roll of a dice, and occasionally even had to go backwards due to landing on certain areas; another room had fluffy balls shoot out in every conceivable direction every few seconds, and yet another was a zero-gravity room, one that people floated around in. The last room on the agenda was the dormitory. Inside it, there were six beds (one for Fred and George, their clones, Ginny, and Percy). However, the beds liked to changed places, colors, and stuffings every day, so you never slept in the same one twice.

And, of course, each room was packed with goodies. There were some of the things that Harry had seen Fred and George use last year, but there were also an almost uncountable number of new inventions. There was Giant Gum, a candy that made you grow as high as the ceiling of a room, and the opposite, Shrink Sugar, that made you become the size of an ant. There were Ants-In-Your-Pants-Plants, vegetables that when eaten gave that very unpleasant sensation to the consumer. There was some Gassy Guzzler, a soda that made you float about for several minutes, and Harry's favorite, Itchy Exploders: little bombs that created a gas when set off that made everyone who breathed it in feel itchy all over, and make them scratch for up to ten hours. There were hundreds of other items to see, but Fred and George didn't have time to show everything.

"Yeah, we've got a pretty good system going on here," said Fred, returning to the first floor. "Me and George run the register and come up with ideas for new stuff when it's not our shift, and Percy finds ways to market the new inventions and keeps inventory. He also takes polls to see what items are popular and which aren't."

"Sounds like you guys have it pretty easy," said Ron. "Run the register for a few hours, then come up with jokes for the rest of the day."

"It's actually a little harder than that," said George. "We have to constantly be coming up with new ideas, people can't be playing the same jokes on each other forever, and we can't simply improve on old ideas anymore, we need completely new inventions. It's very difficult."

"Yeah, I'm sure…" said Ron sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Just then, Fred and George's exhausted clones came up to them and told them it was time for their shift.

"Alright, we'll see you later you two," said Fred, heading to the register.

"Yeah," said George, "but remember Harry! All of this… none of it would be here if it wasn't for you!"

"Well… I'm happy to see you have put the money to good use… very good use," said Harry, taking another look at the place. "It's doing much more here than it would have ever done sitting in my account."

"Thanks again Harry!" the two of them yelled, returning to their work. Harry suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and saw Ron behind him, eyes-wide, and mouth open.

"What is it?" asked Harry. Ron didn't say anything, just merely pointed to the wall right in front of them. Harry looked at it and fell into just as much shock as Ron did. Before them, there was an entire wall… full of packs of Wizard Duel cards. Literally, the entire wall was filled with small packs of cards that glittered in the sunlight as if they were gold. Each wrapper had a different image on it, depicting one of the millions of cards. It was truly a sight to behold.

Harry and Ron flew over to that almost-sacred wall, and immediately grabbed several packs off of it as if they were treasure. On the cover of each pack, it said that there were sixteen additional cards: one rare, five uncommons, and ten commons. After taking about ten packs (he would have bought more, but they were seven sickles each, and Harry didn't have too much money with him) Harry quickly ran up to the above floor and bought a few Itchy Exploders… he just couldn't resist the thought of using one on Malfoy.

The two of them, hands bulging with goods, got in the quickly-moving line, and it was soon their turn.

"Hey! Didn't expect to see you this soon!" said Fred, grabbing their packs.

"I didn't know you guys sold cards here!" exclaimed Ron.

"Oh yeah, they're our best selling items," said George, adding up their total. "We have to get new shipments every night… they go like crazy!"

"Well, I'm proud to say that we're part of those crazy people," smiled Ron, handing Fred exact change for his cards. Harry did the same. The both of them grabbed their stuff, and headed to the exit door.

"Hey!" yelled George. "You two can just use Floo Powder to get out of here! The fireplace is right to your left!"

"Yeah, that'd be a good idea," said Ron, stuffing his packs into his Never-Growing Bag. "Even those these bags don't get bigger, they certainly get heavier, and I don't want to have to carry them all the way back home." Harry agreed, and put the packs into his bag and the Itchy Exploders into his pocket.

The two of them walked over to the fireplace, Ron reached into his pocket, took out some Floo Powder, and threw it in, causing the flames to turn from a dark red to a bright green. He stepped right up to the fire.

"The Burrow!" he yelled, right before disappearing into the flames. Now it was Harry's turn. He stepped up, and reached into his pocket for some powder. But, just as he reached in, he accidentally took out one of the Itchy Exploders, and it fell to the floor, causing a large, green cloud of pure itchiness to appear. The effect was instant, and Harry felt as though mosquitoes were biting him all over… he couldn't stop scratching!

But, he had to concentrate on getting the Floo Powder. While he scratched himself with one arm, he reached into his pocket with the other, and grabbed out some powder. He quickly threw it into the flames.

"Th- the bur… ack! It itches! Oh man… the b- Burrow!" gasped Harry, jumping right into the fire. The entire world around Harry turned black, and began spinning rapidly. Faster and faster… until Harry shot right out of the remote fireplace.

"Ron!" groaned Harry, still itching all over. "Where are you?" Harry took a closer look around, and saw that he was definitely not in the Burrow. Everywhere surrounding him, there were dark and decrepit shelves, contained some of the most horrific items that Harry had ever seen: skulls with the eyes still in them, hands that had hands, and many assorted items in jars of water… or at least what Harry thought was water. Harry assumed he must have accidentally arrived at some sort of store, but it looked much more like a tomb.

Suddenly, Harry heard a footstep and a loud creak in the floor. He immediately tried to forget about his itchiness and took out his wand. Who else could be here? Could this be a trap? Another creak in the floor echoed throughout the room.

"Who's there?" asked Harry, walking around one of the dusty shelves. A few feet in from of him, there were a figure, hidden in the dark shadows of the store.

"Who are you?" demanded Harry.

"Finally…" hissed the figure. His voice was deep and dark, just like the store.

"Finally? Finally what?" asked Harry. This had to be one of Voldemort's traps! How could he have been so stupid as to let an Itchy Exploder fall on the floor?

"FINALLY!" yelled the figure. Harry had no time to react, the figure just jumped right at him, and pinned him to the floor.


	4. The Ring

Chapter 4- The Ring

"Ow! Get off me!" yelled Harry at whatever had jumped on him. Drool was coming down from his attacker's mouth and splashing all over Harry. He was acting like a dog that hadn't seen his owner in decades. It finally dawned on Harry that this was not one of Voldemort's minions. A Death Eater would not pounce on his target, but use some sort of spell. This was just a crazy old man.

"Finally," he yelled again. This time, Harry got a good look at him, and there was only one word to describe him: hideous (hih-day-us). He only had one eye, and it was three times the normal size, with veins popping out all over it. His face was just a sea of wrinkles, and it looked like his nose and mouth were upside down. "Finally!"

"Finally? Finally what?" asked Harry, trying to push the guy off of him.

"Finally!" he thundered, jumping off of Harry and throwing his hands into the air. "A customer!" He brought his arms down, and began tapping his fingers together with a menacing look.

"Um… yeah," said Harry, just relieved to not have to deal with a Death Eater. "Where am I anyway?"

"You are in The Itchy Man's Burrow, the greatest shop in all of Knockturn Alley!" the old man exclaimed. He suddenly spun around, giggled quietly, and walked behind an ancient cash register. He put his elbows down on the counter, and rested his head on top of his bandaged and mangled hands. "Now… what can I interest you in?"

Harry sighed; he didn't want to make the man feel bad, but there was nothing in the shop that Harry was even slightly interested in. In fact, most of the items made Harry feel as though he was going to throw up.

"Um… I'm sorry, but there's really nothing-" said Harry slowly before the man interrupted him. He glared at him with his one massive eye that had a distinct twinkle to it, and suddenly pointed to a small and cobweb-covered sign above him. Written in dark red ink, that Harry thought could have been blood, were the words: "You enter, you buy

something, lest you die." Harry swallowed hard. Even though the man looked old and weak, he probably knew a few magical tricks.

"Yes, you see," hissed the man, "if you leave without something from my store in your hands, you will explode. I've enchanted all of the exits, so don't even try."

"Well, I can see why this place is so popular," said Harry to himself, looking around for a cheap and non-disgusting item that he could quickly buy. Harry looked behind the register, and saw an assortment of different jewelry. Maybe he could buy something for Cho. Quickly looking at the selection of different earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and… rings. Those seemed to be the greatest of all the jewelry available, and Harry took a closer look at them.

There were at least a hundred rings pinned to the wall, each with its own unique Stone and symbol, though they were all almost exactly the same size and shape. There were gold rings with ruby phoenixes, there were jade rings with crystal stars. All of them looked incredibly expensive, and Harry only had a galleon and a few sickles left after his spree at Fred and George's store.

Just then, Harry's attention turned to a single ring. It was in the very bottom, right hand corner, and it had a single cobweb over it, as if the spider were trying to hide it from view more than it was already. From the looks of it, this one didn't appear too expensive, with its rather dull ring and not very shiny Stone.

"How much for that one?" asked Harry, pointing to the ring and trying to sound casual. The tattered man looked at where Harry's finger was indicating, and reached a bandaged hand over to it. He brushed away the cobweb, and blew the dust off of it as he brought it forth. He stuck out his bottom lip, rocked his head from side to side, trying to get a good estimate.

"How much ya got?" he asked. Harry took out his galleon and three sickles, and the man quickly snatched them away. "Well what do you know? That's exactly how much it costs!" He gave a toothless grin, and popped the ring into Harry's hand.

Then, just as the ring touched Harry's palm, he suddenly felt a power rush through him. He felt a surge of energy and excitement flow through his bloodstream, and all the way up to his brain, electrifying his body all the way. Harry quickly slipped the ring onto his finger. He brushed it off a bit more, and realized that the dull Stone was actually carved into the shape of a skull with one crystal eye and one ruby eye. Now, in fact, the skull was no longer a dull gray, but a brilliant black that shone like the darkest Stone. The powerful feeling that Harry was experiencing only increased while the ring was on his finger…. Maybe he wouldn't give the ring to Cho after all, he smiled to himself.

"Will that be all?" grinned the man.

"Well, seeing as you did take all of my money…" said Harry.

"Ah yes, I forgot about that," he said. "You can leave now… you won't explode."

"Alright," said Harry, walking towards the door. "Oh, and thanks for the ring."

"No problem," coughed the man, heaving something large and disgusting out of his mouth just when Harry opened the door and left the store. When Harry stepped outside of the place, and saw that he was still in one piece, he took a look around. Though he had been to Knockturn Alley before, he had never been in this part of it. None of the other stores in the area looked any better than the one he had just been in; all of them appeared as though just one good wind could make them fall over. Even the sky

looked decrepit in this area: it was dark and gray, and the air felt heavier and rusty. It was nothing like Diagon Alley.

Now Harry had to find a way out of this place. He didn't want to go back into The Itchy Man's Burrow, nor did he desire to go into any of the other stores. He had to find a fireplace to Floo from that would allow him to return to the Weasley's. All Harry had to do was turn his head slightly to the side, and his prayers were answered.

It was like a Muggle phone booth, only much larger, and with a fireplace inside; a Floo Station. Harry ran over to it, and entered into it. It felt extremely calm and serene inside, the crackle of the fire and the silence from the horrible outside made for a very nice environment. There was even, attached to the side of one of the walls, a Floo Powder dispenser.

"I guess a lot of people must accidentally come here," said Harry to himself, wondering why there would be a Floo station in the middle of Knockturn Alley.

"Maybe the store owners purposely name their business closely to other popular landmarks," shrugged Harry, throwing some powder into the flames. "The Burrow!" Harry jumped into the flames and once again the world turned black and spun around quickly. A second later, Harry appeared right in the Weasley's house, before a distressed looking Mrs. Weasley, and a worried Ron.

"Where have you been?" demanded Mrs. Weasley, jumping at Harry, and putting her hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah, I was beginning to think you were another one of my missing sisters or something," grinned Ron. Mrs. Weasley, not turning away from Harry, whacked Ron on the head.

"Where have you been?" she asked again.

"I accidentally Flooed to Knockturn Alley," groaned Harry.

"Again?" said Mrs. Weasley and Ron together

"Yeah," grimaced Harry… he really had to stop doing that. It was the second time in… well, four years. His track record wasn't that bad.

"Are you alright, Harry?" asked Mrs. Weasley, trying to sound comforting, but not overly caring. She didn't want Harry to think as though she were treating him like a baby.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he smiled, then, rubbing his ring, "Yeah, I feel better than ever in fact."

"Well good," said Ron. "I guess you didn't have to go in the really bad stores."

"It appears as though you haven't been traumatized too badly," said Mrs. Weasley, eyeing Harry, just to be sure. "So, I don't think you'll object to me telling you that you will still have to go to school tomorrow. With that in mind, I think you two should think about heading to bed. It is almost midnight anyway!"

"Yeah, I suppose you're right mom," yawned Ron. He and Harry walked over to the stairs that were more tiring to climb than an entire mountain. Harry had not realized how exhausted he actually was. He and Ron quickly changed into their night clothes while Harry told Ron of his interesting time at Knockturn Alley.

"He really wouldn't let you leave until you bought something?" asked Ron in surprise, just before he climbed into his bed.

"Yeah, so I finally decided on this ring," said Harry, showing it to Ron.

"Nice," said Ron, nodding his head. "But, aren't you going to take it off before you go to bed?"

Harry looked at his ring… it was so beautiful…. He rubbed it with the tip of his finger, and watched the skull and diamonds shine. A small surge of excitement and energy flowed through him. Harry took a deep breath, feeling full of life.

"No," he said finally, climbing under the covers. "No, I don't think I'll take it off."

"Get up you two! Get up!" came the voice of Mrs. Weasley what felt like only a few seconds after Harry had placed his head down on the pillow. "Come on! The train is leaving in an hour, and you want to have time to get ready! Oh, and Harry, a letter came for you."

This comment made Harry jump out of bed and immediately get dressed. He ran downstairs, and asked Mrs. Weasley where his letter was. She gave it to him, and Harry was surprised that it had a Hogwarts seal on it. What was the school doing sending him letters an hour before the new year started? Harry ripped it open, and read:

Dear Harry,

After the Sorting Ceremony, I need you to come up to my office. I have something for you. The password is 'monkey cakes'.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster

"What could it be?" wondered Harry, biting on a piece of toast that Mrs. Weasley had prepared for the two of them… but wait!

"Mrs. Weasley," asked Harry, suddenly realizing something, "how is Ginny coming to Hogwarts? I mean, she's spent most of the summer at Fred and George's shop."

"And they're bringing her to the Platform," responded Mrs. Weasley. "Both of them have very nice brooms to fly over with. I guess they'll be coming over about the same time we are. Which, by the way, would be much improved if you (she pointed to Ron who had just come down the stairs) hurried up in waking."

"Yeah, yeah…" yawned Ron, grabbing some breakfast and quickly eating it. "Let's just get this year started already. Are we leaving soon?"

"Just as soon as his majesty is done with his breakfast," said Mrs. Weasley sarcastically, bowing to Ron. He just rolled his eyes and continued eating. It wasn't long, though, before they were out the door and at Platform 9 ¾.

"Hey there Harry!" came a voice from not to far away. Harry looked over and saw Fred and George waving to him. He and Ron ran over to them.

"Hey there!" yelled Ron. "Did you bring Ginny?"

"Yup, she's already gone through," said George. Fred sighed.

"Kind of sad… this is the first year we haven't gone through this barrier," he said. "I almost wish I was going back…" He put a smile on. "Almost…."

"Yeah, whatever," said Ron, running through the supposedly solid brick wall that led to the train.

"See you Fred! George!" yelled Harry, running after Ron head first into the not very brick wall. Just like traveling with Floo Powder, the entire world turned black, but only for a second, and the next thing Harry knew, he was standing amidst hundreds of other students, anxious to get on the train. He quickly found Ron among them and they walked on board together, into their usual compartment. It was very nice and relaxing… this was one of the first times they weren't late or rushing to get on the train.

A few minutes later, after sitting there and chatting for a while, Harry felt his ring get a little warm, as if he were holding it close to a fire. Harry looked over at it, and saw that it was glowing a little yellow too….

Suddenly, Harry's thinking was broken by the compartment door opening, and his other best friend, Hermione Granger, stepping in. She walked right on in and sat down next to Ron.

"Why hello, Ron," she smiled, giving him a small kiss. "It's been nice talking to you." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"We've been talking through letters all summer," explained Ron, blushing a little.

"Oh really?" asked Harry, crossing his arms. "I don't remember seeing you write."

"Well, I mostly did it at night…"

"Even then I didn't-"

"After I saw you had gone to sleep."

"Ah ha," said Harry. "I see."

"And it wasn't only letters he sent to me during the summer," smiled Hermione. "Ron also sent me this." She pushed out her arm, and lifted up her sleeve. Revealed underneath was the most beautiful bracelet Harry had ever seen in his entire life. Even from just the little light coming in from the window in the side of the compartment, the bracelet shone bright like the sun… brighter even.

"Wow, where did you ever get that Ron?" asked Harry, in awe.

"On our vacation in Egypt," said Ron. "I actually found it in one of the pyramids we went to. I've just been saving it in my desk for the right occasion… or person."

"You didn't steal it? Did you?" asked Harry as the train started moving.

"Well, not really," said Ron. "It's kind of funny actually, the bracelet was just lying there in the middle of the room, as if asking to be picked up."

"It was just… lying there?" asked Harry.

"Yep, and I just happened to be the first person to see it. I hid it from the rest of my family, who'd either want me to return it or cash it in to save for later or invest in their business."

"Speaking of business," interjected Hermione, "I heard Weasley's Wizard Wheezes is doing quite well."

"Yeah, but me and Harry know the real secret to their success," said Ron.

"We do?" asked Harry.

"You do?" asked Hermione.

"Yep," said Ron, putting his hands behind his head and leaning back. "They sell Wizard Duel cards… that's where most of their money comes from." At this remark, Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh no, not that card game," she said.

"Hey, what's wrong with it?" asked Ron, sounding hurt. "It's a fun game!"

"Well, I like the fact that it teaches people about that many different wizards and items that have historical value, but it's just a silly game. I don't know why some get so obsessed with it."

"Hey!" said Harry. "That reminds me! I still haven't opened my packs of cards!"

"Oh don't tell me you're into that game too?" said Hermione. Ron ignored her comment.

"Really? You didn't? I opened mine as soon as I got home, before I realized that you weren't there."

"Did you get anything good?" asked Harry, looking through his bags for where he put the packs.

"Nah, not really," said Ron. "Just a few copies of what I already have mostly."

"Ah ha, here they are!" exclaimed Harry, bursting from his bag with the packs of cards that he bought. He threw them onto the seat next to him, and immediately grabbed the first one. On the front, there was a picture of a house elf.

"A house elf? Hah, don't expect anything good in that one," said Ron, peering over to see what Harry would get.

"Don't judge a book by its cover," said Hermione, looking over at Harry's card pack even though she said that she detested the game.

Harry quickly tore open the pack, watched the wrapper fall to the floor, and then magically disappear.

"Ahh, an Anti-pollution Charm, very nice," commented Hermione.

Harry looked through the cards, flipping through them as fast as he could, trying to find the rare one in the pack.

"Yeah, Grindylow, another Boggart," said Harry, naming the cards as he passed by them. "Hey a Kneazle! Speaking of which, where's Crookshanks, Hermione? I haven't seen her yet this year, and now that I think of it, I didn't see her much at all last year either."

"Oh, I put him in the storage compartment in the back," said Hermione. "Yeah, last year, Crookshanks was gone for most of the day, out catching food I suppose. Only really saw him during the late afternoon and evening. But, don't worry, I've only lost Crookshanks once at the beginning of the summer, I'm getting better at controlling him. Oh yeah, and-"

"Oh… my… god…" said Harry interrupting her, his eyes were wide, and he was staring at a single card in his hand, evidently the rare one.

"What is it Harry?" asked Ron and Hermione.

"Did you get a really rare one?" asked Ron.

"I got," said Harry, turning the card around, and showing it to them, "Voldemort."


	5. Field Trip

Chapter 5- The Field Trip

The picture on the card was different than ay other Harry had ever seen. Instead of just being a flat moving image, this one appeared almost three dimensional. Behind the horrible, cloaked figure, there was a sparkling black background that just added to the mysticness and amazement of the card.

"How could they even think of putting HIM in the game?" asked Harry, shocked.

"Well, he is a very important historical figure…" said Hermione.

"Yeah, and he's really rare too!" drooled Ron. "Look at that! A four-star rarity! I only thought it went up to three!"

"It doesn't matter," said Harry, turning the card around and glaring at the horrific image of Voldemort, stroking his chin, and giving an occasional laugh. "They still shouldn't put him in the game."

"Oh come on Harry," laughed Ron. "Look at his power! It's through the roof! You could probably win most games with just that one card!"

"I suppose so," said Harry, tucking the Voldemort card away along with the rest of his small collection. He also put his unopened card packs in his bag too, he didn't really feel like opening any more today.

"Well, if you don't want him, I'll gladly take him!" offered Ron.

"No way," laughed Harry, feeling better.

The rest of the rather short trip was pleasant, talking about their summer vacations, and of course, making comments on Hermione's bracelet. It was like nothing Harry had ever seen before.

Before long, however, the train ride came to an end and the three of them got off just in time to see their teacher and friend, Hagrid. He was at least twice as tall as any man, and five times as wide… he almost took up as much space as all of the new first year students he was leading up to the castle.

"Hullo!" he called to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Good ter see ya, but I can' talk now. Gotta lead these newbies up to th' castle. I'll see ya later!" He, along with a few new first years, and five other students that did not look anything like first years, but rather sixth or seventh years, made their way to the boats they would take to cross the lake and to the massive citadel.

"See you later Hagrid!" yelled the three of them, making their way to the much more luxurious carriages that quickly took them to the front gate of Hogwarts which they quickly burst through, eager to start the new year… and to eat at the start of school feast!

Harry, Ron, and Hermione speedily found some seats at the Gryffindor table and waited anxiously as the rest of the Gryffindors filed in. The table looked especially empty, now that all the seventh years from last year were gone… then a thought suddenly came to Harry. He nudged Ron in the side.

"Hey Ron!" he whispered loudly. "We're going to have to hold tryouts again! We need five new people for the Gryffindor Quidditch team! Fred, George, Alicia, Angelina, and Katie all graduated last year." Ron's eyes widened.

"Oh man," he gasped. "I totally forgot about that."

"Oh well, it shouldn't be that difficult," said Harry. Then, remembering that at the end of last year, a group of last years' new Gryffindors promised that they would make the team, Harry began to think that maybe it wouldn't be as easy as he initially speculated.

"Come on Harry," interjected Hermione, "put on your Prefect Badge! You need to show all of the new first years where they can go if they're lost or having trouble." She quickly reached into her pocket, and pinned on her shiny badge, wearing it proudly.

"Ugh… the last thing I want is for more first years to be crawling all over me," groaned Harry, taking out his grimy badge and trying to clean it up a bit.

"You should really take your Prefect responsibilities more seriously," said Hermione severely. "I noticed that last year you never took any house points away from

anyone, nor did you ever read the Prefect Guidebook, which I'm sure you must have lost by now or something."

"Fine fine fine, " said Harry, pinning his slightly cleaner badge on, "I'll try to do a better job this year Miss. Hermione." Harry tried to look as cute as he could, pretending to be a little preschooler. Ron laughed, but Hermione merely turned away.

"Shh!" she said. "The Sorting is starting!"

And so it was. The doors to the Great Hall burst open and the first years who had crossed the lake with Hagrid now walked up to the front of the room in a single straight line, led by Professor McGonagall. Once again, Harry saw that five of the new students did not look like first years at all, they looked more along the lines of Harry's age.

"What's up with them?" asked Ron.

"Maybe they're more exchange students from other schools, like Tci was last year," suggested Hermione. Harry hadn't thought of that, and she was probably right; they were just new students from Durmstrang.

"Well, whoever they are, they are definitely cool," said Ron, eyeing them and smiling.

"What makes you say that?" asked Harry.

"Just look at their pockets!" pointed Ron. Harry looked over, and almost laughed at the sight. The pockets of the five new students were literally overflowing with Wizard Duel cards. Every now and then, one fell on the floor, and the student who dropped it just magically brought it back up, proving that they were definitely not newcomers to the world of magic, they had had some training.

Finally, the line stopped, and professor McGonagall stepped up to the head of the room with a big sheet of parchment that had all the names of the new students on it. She also took the large, black, pointed hat off of her head, and placed it on a stool that was next to her. Harry realized that this was no ordinary hat, that was the Sorting Hat. It suddenly shot up into the air a few feet, a small hole appearing for its mouth, and started singing:

"You should listen to what I have to say,

It's different every year on this same day.

You see, I am the Sorting Hat;

And I will tell you where you should be at.

If Gryffindor is what I bark out loud,

Then you possess a soul that is brave and proud!

If Ravenclaw is what come out of my mouth,

Then you are the wisest in your house.

If Hufflepuff is what I say,

Then you are loyal, behind your friends is where you stay.

If Slytherin is what I hiss,

Then you are cunning, you know when something is amiss.

But, who cares? Just try me on!

I'll tell you where you belong…."

Everyone clapped respectfully and the hat fell back down to its seat, with a slightly smug look on its face, or at least Harry thought that's what its expression was; it's very hard to tell with hats.

"Trenholm Archibald," said Professor McGonagall. A quite tall boy walked up to the hat, not looking nervous at all, and threw it right on his head.

"Gryffindor!" yelled the hat, causing the Gryffindor table to clap and cheer as he walked over and sat down. The first sorting was over.

"Ai Gomon!" continued Professor McGonagall, causing one of the bigger new students, his pockets bulging with cards, to walk up to the hat and place it on his head. Almost immediately, the hat yelled out his house name.

"Slytherin!"

The whole of Slytherin table applauded for their bigger new student, and Malfoy and Tci even stood up for him, welcoming him in to their clan. Harry noticed, that for the first time, Malfoy didn't have his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, sitting next to him. In fact, they were all the way down at the other end of the table, looking hopelessly lost.

"Oh well, I guess Malfoy has gotten better friends now," thought Harry to himself, returning his attention to the Sorting.

Ten minutes later, Brad Cooper, Susej Tsirch, Stephen Early, and Kevin Williams were the latest Ravenclaws, Megan, Kyle, and Lydia Yasigian were the newest Hufflepuffs, and three more of the older new students (Faire Morter, Avait Malmin, and Fonce Kuroi) went to Slytherin in addition to Rusty Johnson. Gryffindor had only gotten one other besides Trenholm so far: Chad Horahoe.

"Aku Tenshi!" yelled Professor McGonagall, looking rather happy that he was the last person on the list. He was a very tall and skinny boy, with a rather pale appearance. In fact, he reminded Harry of himself a little.

Aku walked up to the Sorting Hat with a grin on his face. He slowly sat down, causing his cape to go up in the air for a second, then come back down like a bat flapping its wings. He placed the hat upon his head, and after a few seconds….

"Gryffindor!" it yelled out.

The Gryffindor table erupted into applause. They had gotten one of the older new students! Aku walked over to their table, and chose a seat right next to Harry.

"Hey there, Aku!" said Harry, trying to be friendly.

"Please, call me Ak," he said with a wave of his hand, and a grin of his perfect and shining teeth. There was something warm and inviting about him that Harry really liked.

"Alright then… Ak," said Harry, "I see you like the Wizard Duel card game."

"Oh yes," beamed Ak. "In fact, at Durmstrang, we, that is Faire, Avait, Fonce, Ai and me, started a Wizard Duel Club. We're thinking of starting one here too!"

"Whoa! That'd be awesome!" said Ron excitedly.

"Oh, Ak, this is Ron, my friend," introduced Harry.

"Nice to meet you," said Ak.

"Likewise," said Ron, looking more at Ak's cards than his face.

Suddenly, their conversation was cut off by Dumbledore standing up to make the usual annual announcements, like he did every year at this time. He took a last swig of his drink, brushed off his beard, and began speaking.

"Hello students!" he boomed, his voice magically magnified. "I am happy to announce, thought I am sure may of you are not, that we are starting a new term here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under me, Minister Dumbledore."

There was a bit of polite applause. Harry remembered that last year, the previous Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, stepped down for covering up Voldemort's attacks due to being blackmailed. Dumbledore had been elected in his place.

"Now, for announcements," he continued. "First and foremost, to all you new students, the Forbidden Forest is. That is, it is forbidden to go in, no matter what, under every and all circumstances. Also, I am extending curfew by three hours, because I'm just a nice guy like that, and the Village of Hogsmeade is forbidden to all first and second year students.

"Next, I would like to welcome five more transfer students from Durmstrang. They were all going to be sixth years at their old school, and will remain in that grade despite their late arrival at our school. I do hope that all sixth years will give them as warm a welcome as I would like."

"Also, while we're working on new welcomes, I would like to introduce your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell!"

"He doesn't mean…" started Ron.

"What happened to…" asked Hermione.

Harry looked up and saw the new Professor Quirrell that Mrs. Figg had told him about. In fact, even though they were identical twins, this Quirrell looked nothing like his brother. He had a big moustache and beard, and most obvious of all, did not have a massive turban either. He stood up, gave a small wave and smile, then sat down.

"Lastly, to try and cut this little speech of mine to as little time as possible, I have one final and major announcement. After the Christmas Holidays, and at the beginning of January, most of the school, that is, the second years and up, will go on a field trip to one of the Egyptian pyramids, the Geb Pyramid. I hope that it shall be a most wonderful and educational experience."

The Hall suddenly filled with chatter and excitement. They would be going on a magical field trip! The first one that this set of students would have ever experienced! However, amongst the excited talk, Ron's comment was heard by Harry.

"Field trip?" he swallowed. "They don't mean the one that my sister never returned from… could they?" Harry didn't know what to say. Could it possibly be to the same place?

"I… don't know," said Harry quietly.

"The field trip," continued Dumbledore, trying to keep his voice heard over the cloud of chatter that was going on, "will be paid for by the school, so none of you have to worry about giving us any money to go. With that in mind, I hope you all will sign up for it, and come. We would like everyone, who is allowed, to go with us, and we have taken many precautions this time to ensure everybody's safety.. Now, please, finish your meals and end this beginning day."

Dumbledore sat down, but nobody really noticed any difference. They were all still talking about the field trip.

"Wow! I've never been to Egypt before!"

"I wonder if there'll be any mummies."

"I didn't know Professor Quirrell had a brother…." Were just a few things that Harry picked up.

"Why is everyone so excited about a field trip?" asked Ak. "At Durmstrang, we had them all the time! We went to Transylvania, Rome, Hungary, India, China, Japan, and more! All in the same year!"

"Well this is the first one we'll have ever been to," explained Harry.

"Hmm, I see. Well, it should be good," he shrugged. "We never did go to Egypt before. Maybe it will be interesting."

"Come on Harry!" said Hermione, pulling on his shirt. "You have to go show the new students where their dormitories are."

"Yeah, yeah," sighed Harry, leaving the Great Hall with a giant mass of students following behind him. He ran ahead of them all, wanting to be able to show the new kids where to go before they got lost.

"Follow me," Harry said to them as they ran to keep up with his quick pace. They soon reached the Gryffindor room entrance that was vigilantly guarded by the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Password?" she demanded.

"Pookong," said Harry, causing her to swing open and reveal to them the room. Over the summer, he along with the rest of the prefects had received letters telling them the passwords for the entire year. Harry led the two new first years to their room, relieved that there were only two of them this year. They both quickly settled into their new room, much more easily than the previous year's had, and Harry shut the door.

"Hello Harry," said Ak, who appeared behind him just as he closed the door.

"Ah!" gasped Harry. "You- you scared me there Ak."

"Sorry," he said. "But… where do I sleep?" Harry stroked his chin for a second. He Didn't know where Ak should go. With him and the rest of the sixth years, or with the new first years?

"Well," guessed Harry, "I suppose you can come with us. Follow me." Harry lead him to their dormitory, opened the door, and was surprised to see that there was an extra bed in the room, just for Ak. Evidently, this was where he was supposed to be.

"Hey Harry!" called Ron, whom Harry wasn't surprised to see was already involved in a Wizard Duel card game match against Dean and Seamus. "You want to play? How about you Ak?"

"Oh no, I can't," said Harry, remembering the note Dumbledore had sent to him, saying that he had something for him. "I have to go see Dumbledore… I'll be back soon."

"Don't worry Harry," said Ak. "Give me your deck and I'll play for you."

"But, you have so many cards," said Harry. "Why do you need my deck?"

"I… I don't want to reveal what my cards are until the club starts," said Ak.

"Fine," sighed Harry, reaching into the bag in the front of his bed that had been bought up earlier for his deck of cards. He found it quickly, and threw it to Ak, running out of the room as fast as he could, not wanting to be late.

Harry shot out of the room, trying to make up for the time he lost showing the new students around. He quickly made it out of the common room, and down to the Great Hall. From there, it was only a little ways to Dumbledore's office, and Harry got there quickly.

"Monkey cakes," gasped Harry, out of breath. The gargoyle in front of his office moved aside and Harry walked through the door and up the stairs.

"I'm sorry I'm late," said Harry, reaching the office, "but you see I-" He suddenly stopped. Dumbledore wasn't in the room. "Hmm, I guess I didn't have to go that fast after all."

Harry looked around. Even though he had been to Dumbledore's office on many occasions, for every imaginable type of situation, even to steal a phoenix, Harry still liked to see what was in the office. There was always something new! Just then, Harry felt the same, hot sensation on his ring finger that he had felt on the train. His ring turned blue this time, and he felt as though he were being drawn towards Dumbledore's desk.

Harry let his ring drag him, as if it were a powerful magnet. His hand was out in front of him, and it led him right towards the bottom right drawer of the desk. The ring was burning hotter now, and Harry had to resist the urge to pull it off. Harry slowly opened the drawer, wondering what he would find. The second he opened it a crack, a blue light shone right through. Harry pulled it open even more, and an explosion of blue light came out. He looked in for the source and it was… a watch.

But it wasn't just any watch… it was the most beautiful watch Harry had ever seen in his life. It was made out of a light blue crystal all over, and the face was some sort of rainbow colored glass that was constantly swirling and changing…. Harry just had to pick it up and put it on!

He reached inside the drawer, and grabbed the watch, pulling it out. He looked at for only a second, for an instant later, a giant holographic map suddenly appeared before him, and it took him by such surprise, he dropped the watch. The map was being projected right onto the air… from Harry's ring! It was a map of the world… but with no border lines at all, just geographic features. Harry scanned it over and noticed something… there were four dots on the map: a blue one, a red one, a yellow one, and a green one. The blue, green, and yellow dots were both over England…but Harry couldn't see exactly where. The red one was somewhere in… Africa.

Suddenly, Harry heard someone coming up the creaky stairs… Dumbledore! Harry quickly threw the watch back into the drawer and shut it just as fast. Just when it was out of sight, the holographic map disappeared and Harry jumped up, trying to look as though nothing out of the normal had just happened. Not even a second later, Dumbledore walked in the office.

"Hello Harry," he said, walking in. "So sorry I'm late, just had to go over a few things with Professor Quirrell."

"Oh… no problem," gasped Harry, trying to put on a smile.

"Are you alright? You look as though you've been working rather hard. Not that I have any objections to that, but it's not as if you should have much to do, considering school hasn't even started yet."

"Oh no, I'm fine."

"Alright then," said Dumbledore, shaking his head. "Anyway, down to business. I have another item here that was left to you."

"From my father?" asked Harry. Dumbledore shook his head.

"No, not this. This item is from your godfather."

"Sirius?"

"Yes, he is giving it to you to keep the Ministry of Magic from finding," explained Dumbledore, opening one of his other drawers, reaching inside, and taking out a small package. He walked over to Harry and handed it to him. Harry took it, and opened it up. Inside, there was a ring… not at all like his skull one, but a clear ring that had a face carved on the translucent Stone: half human on one side, half lion on the other.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"It is an Animagus Invisibility Ring," said Dumbledore, sitting down in the chair before his desk. "It acts just like your Invisibility Cloak. Only now, whenever you transform, you will become invisible if you want to. A very handy thing to have…. Though I see that you already have a ring…."

With that, he jumped up and walked slowly in front of Harry. He bent over slightly, and gazed at the skull ring, as if he was entranced by it somehow.

"Oh yeah…" said Harry quietly, putting his new ring on his middle finger. He could barely even see it was there, it was so clear. Dumbledore, however, seemed more interested in Harry's skull ring than his new one. It was odd… very odd in fact. Dumbledore was just standing there, looming over Harry and gazing at his ring, wide-eyed and practically drooling.

"Uh… I have to go now," said Harry awkwardly. Dumbledore immediately shook his head and blinked his eyes a few times, leaving his catatonic state.

"Oh- oh yes!" he said, sitting back down, but not taking his eyes off of Harry. "Go along now, I'm sure you have more important things to do than talk to an old geezer like me."

Harry smiled at Dumbledore and walked out of the room, wondering what had made him act that way. All the way back to his common room, he went over in his mind what could have happened in Dumbledore's office with the blue watch… what was with the map and everything? He almost walked right into the portrait of the Fat Lady, not thinking. He gave her the password, and had to work his way through a cloud of students, who Harry supposed was just gathered there to talk excitedly and anxiously about the upcoming year. When he saw what the real cause was, though, he felt a little disgusted.

"Now what cards would you like?" asked Aylar behind a table that was covered several inches high in sickles and knuts. "Any card you want, I can give it to you."

"I'd like a Merlin," squeaked the kid, who looked like he was a third year.

"Coming right up!" smirked Aylar, waving his wand and causing the card to appear out of thin air, right onto the surface of the table. "That will be… seven sickles please." The kid quickly reached into his pocket and threw the money out on the table, walking away in a blissful state. "Next!"

"Aylar!" yelled Harry. "What are you doing?"

"Oh hello Harry," smiled Aylar as his next customer approached. "Just giving these kids a few cards that they have trouble getting their hands on if they only buy packs."

"But Aylar… that's counterfeiting!"

"I guess so… but who can tell the difference?" he shrugged, creating four phoenixes for his customer. Harry grabbed one from the air, and took a spare card out from his pocket, to compare them. After a quick glance, Harry saw a big difference.

"Sorry Aylar," grinned Harry, showing him the two cards side by side. "But, in the bottom left hand corner of the real card, there's a 'T'. On yours, there's an 'A'."

Aylar snatched the cards out of his hand, and looked them over quickly, his eyes darting from side to side.

"I guess the first letter of the name of the person that made the card is put there," said Aylar quietly, not wanting that little thing to get out.

"But look!" exclaimed Aylar's customer who was waiting for the phoenix that Harry took, and had overheard them. He took out a werewolf card from his pocket.

"Yeah… so?"

"This one's got a 'V' in the corner," he said. Then, taking out another card. "And this one's got an 'A' too!" Aylar folded his arms and put a smug look on his face.

"So, three different people make the cards, and one of their name's starts with 'A', same as mine. There's no way anyone will be able to tell the difference! Next!" Aylar gave his previous customer his phoenix, and a new student came up.

"Four Sorceror's Stones," he demanded, causing Harry to sigh and walk up to his dormitory. How could Aylar do something like that? Counterfeiting cards just to make a little money. Harry opened the door to his room, and saw the three boys, Seamus, Dean, and Ak, playing Wizard Duel on the floor. Harry groaned at the sight of more cards.

"Yes! I win again!" yelled Ak, throwing his hands into the air.

"That's the sixth time in a row!" sighed Seamus, Dean, and Ron together.

"Hey Harry!" said Ak, turning around. "Your deck's not bad!"

"Thanks, but isn't that enough for tonight?" suggested Harry.

"Nah," the four of them said together.

"But we could use another player…" said Dean.

"You're right. Hey Neville!" called Seamus. Neville was back in a corner of the room, reading a book. Seamus held up his deck for him to see. "You play?"

Neville looked up, and Harry scanned him over. He appeared completely different from last year. If Harry didn't know Neville was his name, he would have thought they were two totally different people. Now, instead of being slightly on the large side, Neville looked stronger than the four of them put together. His hair was different too… extremely pointy. He looked more like a character from an anime cartoon than a human.

"No," he said with a tone of superiority in his voice. "I have… things to do."

Harry frowned at him and winced an eye. He knew that Neville was probably studying the latest Dark Curses. Ever since halfway through the last year, Neville had been a Death Eater, and his new look was probably a gift from Voldemort.

"Fine," said Seamus, shrugging and returning to the game.

They played another round, and Ak won, of course. Ron, Seamus and Dean decided that they'd been slaughtered enough for one day, and all of them chose to stop for the night, and go to bed.

Harry laid there, still slightly awake, with ideas buzzing in his head.

"Could this field trip be the same field trip that Jamie got lost on…? What was the deal with the map thing in Dumbledore's office…? What was Dobby trying to warn me about…?" After a while, however, Harry finally drifted off into a deep sleep.

"Harry…" came a voice, as if from far away.

"Mmmm…" he groaned back.

"Harry Potter…" it came again, louder.

"Yeah, what?" asked Harry groggily, opening his eyes. He was very surprised to see that he was not in bed, but rather standing up in the middle of the Gryffindor Common room. His glasses weren't on, so he couldn't see a thing, but luckily he felt them in his hand. Harry quickly put them on.

"Harry Potter," hissed the voice again. This time, it was much closer, and sounded almost inhuman. Suddenly, Harry could make out where the voice was coming from, and even worse, whose it was. Right before him, in the middle of the common room, was Voldemort himself.


	6. New Classes

Chapter 6- New Classes

"Hello… Harry Potter," hissed Voldemort again, caressing himself with his spider-like fingers. Unlike his followers, Voldemort looked no different than when Harry had met him last. Pale and skeleton-like skinny all over, with snake eyes and a long, flowing, black robe and cape.

Harry didn't have time to scream or yell. He just reached into his pocket for his wand. He quickly pulled it right out, and pointed it straight at Voldemort.

"Stupefy!" he yelled. The beam shot right out from the tip of his wand… but it just passed right through Voldemort, as if he were a ghost. Voldemort gave a short laugh.

"Oh Harry," he chortled, "don't you think I'm smarter than that? Even though my powers are great, I still wouldn't risk coming into Hogwarts in my actual form… yet anyways."

"Then how are you here?" demanded Harry, still not putting his wand down.

"This… is a dream," said Voldemort, putting his hands up, and spinning around slowly. "I am not real, not even this room; which, I might add, is a very good guess at what the Gryffindor common looks like, seeing as I've never been in it."

"You mean, you created this dream?" asked Harry.

Voldemort gave a smile.

"Oh yes…" he hissed. "My powers have improved so much after you 'gave' me your Order last year, that I am able to do almost anything I desire."

"If you're so powerful, why don't you just have an all out attack on Hogwarts then?" snapped Harry, actually curious as to why. Voldemort ignored his question, and changed the subject.

"Anyway, down to business," he murmured.

"What do you want now?"

"I have a feeling that you know what I want… Harry," he said, smiling. Harry's mind raced. What did he have that he could possibly want? His Animagus Invisibility Ring? No, he could probably get one of those from somewhere else. His other ring, the skull one? Perhaps… but why didn't he just ask for it now if that's what he wanted? No, it had to be something else.

"Well, I can't give it you if I don't even know what it is that you want," said Harry, trying to hide his ring.

"I have a feeling you know what it is I desire…" he repeated.

"Even if I knew what it was that you wanted," spat Harry, "there's no way I'd give it to you anyway!"

Voldemort shook his head.

"Well then… Harry Potter," he said slowly. "Bad things will happen…" Voldemort took out his wand, and pointed it at Harry.

"Expellius!" he yelled. A wave shot out of his wand that twisted and contorted the entire room as it went along. The common room became like some sort of horrible attempt at an abstract painting as it began to curve, melt, fade, and become sharper all at once. As soon as it hit Harry, he fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Harry! Get up!" came Ron's voice over him. "Breakfast's started now, and you don't want to miss the first one of the year; that wouldn't look too good!"

"Ugh… what?" groaned Harry, sitting up and seeing that everyone else was already dressed and ready for the first actual day back. He quickly jumped out of bed and over to his trunk of clothes where he quickly picked an outfit, and threw his robes on over that. "Alright, let's go."

The two of them ran downstairs to the Great Hall where most of the school was already seated. Harry and Ron picked seats next to Hermione, and began eating.

"So, you two have any dreams last night?" she asked. Harry choked on his muffin from remembering his.

"Are you okay, Harry?" asked Ron.

"Yeah yeah," he coughed, hitting his chest. "I'm fine."

"Okay then," said Ron, "but no, Hermione, no dreams for me… a perfectly dreamless night." Harry looked enviously at his friend. He hadn't spent the night with Voldemort in the common room.

"How about you Harry?" asked Hermione. Harry looked over at her. Why shouldn't he tell her? There was no reason not to. Maybe they could help him figure out what Voldemort wanted.

"Yeah, I had a dream," said Harry. "Voldemort talked to me in the common room, and told me he wanted something from me, but he didn't say what." Harry looked at Ron and Hermione's faces, which now contained wide eyes. He was impressed, though, that they didn't flinch at him saying Voldemort's name.

"He- he talked to you?" gasped Ron.

"In the common room?" said Hermione.

"Yeah," said Harry, acting as if he had night time conversations with Voldemort every day of his life.

"Well, what did he say he wanted?" asked Ron.

"He didn't really say. He only said, 'I have a feeling you know what it is I desire.'"

"Anything else?" asked Hermione, looking serious.

"No, well, nothing else about what he wanted. And, when I refused, he said bad things will happen then."

"Ah, we've got nothing to worry about!" said Ron, waving his arm as if tossing Voldemort away. "As long as we're here in Hogwarts, under Dumbledore's constant watch, nothing could possibly happen."

Just then, the familiar flapping of wings filled that air, and all head turned to see the owls fly in through the hole in the roof, bringing the student's daily mail. However, no owls came through this time. Only hundreds of black crows, each with a dark letter in its claws. Indifferent to the screaming going on, each crow delivered a single envelope to each student, including Harry, then quickly flew back out the way it came. Harry quickly turned it over, to see what the seal was, and felt cold all over when he saw what it was: a red skull with a green snake coming out of the mouth. That symbol could only mean one thing: recruitment notes.

"Voldemort… is sending letters… here?" gasped Ron, from under the table.

"I can't believe Dumbledore… or anyone for that matter, would let this happen!" said Hermione, right next to Ron. Harry was one of the few who had not hid.

"Still feel safe, Ron?" asked Harry, tearing up his letter, not even looking at it. By now, all the crows had left, and the students started creeping out from their hiding spots. Teachers were coming in from preparing their first lessons to try and help out.

As Harry looked around, he saw that not everyone was tearing up the letters. Some of them were slipping them in their pockets for later, others were even reading them now. Harry stared at the student body… how many of them were already Death Eaters?

"See Harry?" chuckled Neville, his letter in hand. "We have practically already won." Harry sneered at him.

"I don't see how anyone could become a Death Eater," he said with extreme disgust.

"Actually, it's quite simple, as long as you put it into perspective," explained Neville, putting his hands in his pocket and rocking back and forth on his feet. "Here's a simple analogy: the Dark Arts, and the Muggle drug companies. Both kill people for profit, and both are quite successful. At Muggle schools, you're taught not to work for them, or do it, same thing here; we have Defense Against the Dark Arts, they have health class. In the Muggle world, they have companies trying to get rid of drugs, we have Aurors. But, does any of that stop Muggle children everywhere from growing up to work for them? No, not at all. All they care about is money, and it's the same thing here, Harry. The kids see possibilities and promotion in the Dark Arts, and they flock towards it. There's nothing you can do."

Harry stood there for a second, both amazed at Neville's sight and intelligence, and hating him for thinking that way. Luckily, Neville just shrugged and walked away; Harry didn't have anything to say to him. He instead went over to Ron and Hermione and helped them up..

"Oh Harry!" exclaimed Ron, reaching into his pocket and taking out a colorful sheet of parchment. "I made this while you were gone last night." Harry took the sheet from him. It was an advertisement for the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team this coming Friday.

"Looks good," said Harry, eyeing the nice pictures and colors on it. "I'll go hang it up on the bulletin board where everyone can see it."

"Okay, but hurry back!" called Hermione after him. "We're getting our new schedules soon!"

"I'll be back in no time," said Harry, running out of the Great Hall and to the magical bulletin board that wasn't but a few feet away. He merely touched the piece of

parchment to the board and it magically stuck there, expanding slightly so it would be more visible. Harry stood back to admire the work, and smiled at it.

Just then, Harry saw another kid putting an advertisement on the board. He placed it up, and it expanded as well. This one, however, looked even nicer than Ron's. It was practically a three dimensional picture, depicting two people excitedly engaged in a Wizard Duel game. The student who put it up turned around, and Harry saw that it was Ak. He was wearing the same outfit that Tci wore last year: a long jacket with no shirt on under it.

"Hey Ak!" yelled Harry. "So you are starting the club."

"Oh yes," he said, turning towards Harry. "Me and the other four are."

"Wow, the poster looks really nice," said Harry, nodding his head. "How did you make it look so good?"

"Oh… just a few extra little things," said Ak, admiring the poster as well. "Oh! But I see something wrong! I forgot to dot the 'I' on 'Wizard'! Oh no…. Harry, do you have a quill I can borrow?"

"Sure," said Harry, reaching into his pocket, grabbing one, and handing it to him. "Here you go."

Ak reached over for the quill, but stopped as soon as he saw Harry's hand. His eyes grew wide and his mouth opened slightly. He was staring at Harry's ring.

"What- what is it?" asked Harry nervously. "Don't you want the quill?"

"Where did you get that skull ring?" asked Ak slowly, not blinking.

"Um… Ron gave it to me," lied Harry, not wanting to say he got it from a crazy old man back at Knockturn Alley. "He found it in a pyramid on his trip to Egypt."

"Pyramid…" said Ak to himself, turning around, and walking away, back towards the Great Hall. "Yes…."

"Wait, Ak!" yelled Harry to him. "Don't you want to fix the 'I'?"

"Pyramid…" said Ak, disappearing back into the room. Harry shrugged and put the quill away. He began walking back to Ron and Hermione, all the while thinking what Ak and Dumbledore knew about his ring that he didn't.

"Hey there!" said Ron, looking grim, and bringing Harry out of his dazed state. "You won't believe this. Not only do we have Potions with the Slytherins still, but we also have Defense Against the Dark Arts with them too!"

"You're kidding!" said Harry, picking up his schedule. But, it was sadly true. Even though he and Malfoy had started getting along better, he still did not feel like spending another entire class with him this year. Then, Harry noticed something else about his schedule. "What's this? For the last period of the day, I have three things: Advanced Healing, Meteorology, and Spell Invention."

"We have to choose which one we want," explained Hermione.

"What, we just go to the class of our choice at the end of the day?" said Ron jokingly.

"Yep," said Hermione, taking Ron by surprise.

"But, shouldn't they give us more time to think about which class it is that we want?" asked Harry.

Hermione shook her head.

"No," she said. "It's supposed to just be a natural choice, not something influence by our family or events that happen between when we are told that we have the choice and when it comes time to choose. It is a spur of the moment thing."

"How do you know all that?" asked Ron, slightly amazed.

"I think we both know the answer to that," she said.

Just then, the magical bell rang throughout the school, signaling the start of school time. Harry, Ron, and Hermione strutted off to Defense Against the Dark Arts, their first class of the day. All of them were wondering how it was going to be with the Slytherins, and with their new professor. They filed into the classroom and in just a few minutes the rest of the class arrived. Surprisingly, Malfoy took a seat right next to Harry, and Crabbe and Goyle were on the other side of the room, nowhere near him. Professor Quirrell came in soon after.

"Hello everyone!" he said brightly, with his beard (that looked as though it was even bigger than Hagrid's) going all the way down to his stomach. It was a very unpleasant shade of green all over, probably from food and stuff getting caught in it as he eats. "Now, as I have learned, in your fourth year, you learned how to deal with the Imperius Curse, then last year you learned about the Cruciatus Curse. So, this year, we will be looking at ways to protect yourselves from the final Unforgivable Curse… the Avada Kedavra Spell. But, since the spell itself is almost unavoidable, you will not be studying on how to protect yourselves from actual curse, but how to protect yourself from being drawn into the Dark Side and ever having to deal with the spell in the first place. We will be learning what makes wizards turn, and how to stop yourself from doing so… in a nutshell, what makes good wizards go bad…. Yeehaw!"

"I'd rather learn what made your beard grow so big and disgusting," whispered Malfoy. Harry had to stifle down a laugh and he saw Ron do the same.

"Not bad Malfoy, not bad," said Harry, commenting on his joke.

"Eh, I could do better," he replied, cracking his knuckles.

"Hey," said Harry, feeling as though this was actually becoming a good conversation, "why aren't you sitting with Crabbe and Goyle?"

Malfoy shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess I kind of… grew out of them," he said. "They just got boring with their pathetic schemes and constant grunts. We just… don't think on the same level any longer." Harry was liking this more and more. With Crabbe and Goyle gone, Malfoy would be desperate for some new friends… perhaps Harry could show him the light.

The rest of the class went very well. Professor Quirrell talked to them about the letters that they all received at breakfast and how that was a perfect way for them to be tempted to come over. He asked them is any of them had kept their letters, and not very surprisingly, no one raised their hand. Harry suspected that many of the Slytherins, and probably a few of the Gryffindors, had kept their letters too, but were definitely not going to admit to it, especially to a teacher.

By the end of class, Harry and Malfoy were practically as good friends as him and Ron. It was a very good feeling, befriending one of your oldest enemies. Malfoy told Harry that he wished he were a fifth year, because next year, the Sixth Years would be offering three new courses in addition to the three that they had now: Necrology, the study of bringing people back from the dead; Curses, the study of new and advanced

ways to bring about horror; and Time Travel, where they'd try to figure out new ways of changing past events, and seeing the future.

"How do you know all that?" asked Harry after the bell rang.

"My father told me," said Malfoy.

"How would he know the future of Hogwarts?" asked Harry.

Malfoy shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "But I do know that if I don't hurry, I'll be late for Transfiguration."

"Fine, I'll see you later Malfoy," said Harry.

"Yeah, see you on the Quidditch field, Potter," yelled Malfoy, walking away. "You know… Marcus Flint finally graduated last year. I wonder who the new captain will be?"

"So what's up with you two now?" asked Ron, preventing Harry from commenting on Malfoy's statement.

"Oh, don't worry Ron," smiled Harry. "You're still my best friend."

"I guess having a new class with the Slytherins wasn't so bad after all," commented Hermione, walking along beside them. Harry happily agreed.

The rest of the classes, while okay, did not contain any new friendships like Defense Against the Dark Arts did. In Herbology, they started learning about not plants, but rather soil. Magical dirt that could be grown and formed to act like humans. It would not be until much later into the year that any of the students, even Neville, could make a perfect person.

Transfiguration was pretty good as well. Professor McGonagall began teaching them how to transform each other's certain body parts into different things. She began by making Hermione's arms into crab claws, and then Neville's legs into a goat's. The class applauded and laughed at her transfigurations, but it would be a long time before anyone would be able to do something the well.

Charms was just as good. They began learning how to set magical charm traps, like Ron pretended he did last year. There were hundreds of different kinds: ones that exploded, ones that turned their victims to Stone, and ones that even made the person fall asleep. Harry couldn't wait to begin learning some of them.

If Harry hadn't know better, he would have though he was in the same Divination class as last year. Professor Trelawney did not improve much on her syllabus from last year, she only added that they would be using Wizard Duel cards in helping them to make some predictions. That, and only that, gave Harry hope for that class to be any good.

Care of Magical Creatures, though not as exciting as last year with the dragons, was still an improvement on Divination. Though Hagrid did not know exactly which creatures they would be studying, he did say they would be looking on an average of a new one each week, and by the end of the year, they would know almost ever animal in the world. It was very nice for once to not have Malfoy criticizing Hagrid every second, poking fun at him for everything he did. On the contrary, he talked to Harry most of the time, chatting about Quidditch or whatever. Malfoy was quickly becoming one of the group… if only he wasn't in Slytherin.

In Potions, everyone's favorite teacher, Professor Snape was back. Even before he started telling them what the were going to do during the year, Gryffindor had lost twenty points, Dean had an F for the semester, and Lavender ran out crying. Ahh… the teacher they all knew and loved was back.

Even with Professor Snape back, Potions did not even begin to compare to how bad History of Magic was. Even Professor Binns reading them the outline of the year was enough to make a dead person kill over again with boredom. Halfway into the class, Harry fell asleep, and did not know what they were going to do all year. Oh well, his next major test wasn't until next year's N.E.W.T.s anyway.

Now, the thing that Harry, along with the rest of the Sixth Years, was looking forward to the most came… the time for them to choose their 'bonus' class. Ron and Harry quickly consulted with Hermione on which one was the best.

"Well, Advanced Healing is pretty good if you plan on going into some sort of medicinal position, like a doctor or something. Meteorology is for those who want to go into serious fighting, you learn how to make storms and tornadoes appear out of nowhere. And, if you don't fit into either of those categories, like me, Spell Invention. You do exactly what the class name is… invent spells."

"Really?" asked Ron, sounding amazed. "You can make your own spells?"

"Yeah, but it's not as easy as it sounds," said Hermione. "They recommend having taken Arithmancy; you'll need it to understand the code behind it. MMSC, or Majik's Magical Spell Code, the code for making spells is quite similar to Muggle computer programs. That little second year, Akshay, would be good at it."

"So you're taking Spell Invention, Hermione?" asked Ron, completely ignoring everything she had just said.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean-"

"Well then I'll take it too," announced Ron, not allowing her to finish. Hermione just sighed. She didn't want to influence their decision, but she did.

"Well then, I guess I'll take it too," said Harry, not wanting to be left out.

"Fine! Don't let your subconscious self choose, let me do it for you," groaned Hermione, throwing her hands into the air.

"Okay thanks," smiled Ron. The three of them tried to find their way to their new class by using the Marauder's Map, the only good… well actually, the only map of Hogwarts that Harry had ever seen. It took them no time to find it with the help of the map, so not before long, they found their quite large classroom, and walked in to see a rather small group of students inside. Most of them were people that Harry had seen before, but never really talked to.

"Why are there so few students here?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, I thought this would be one of the more popular classes," said Ron.

"Well I did tell you," said Hermione. "It's not an easy class. Most people in here are from my Arithmancy class."

Harry swallowed hard.

"Do you think we made the right choice, Ron?"

"Well, I don't know…."

"Hey, you've had five other brothers go through this already, you should know," said Harry. "Didn't any of them take this class?" Ron stroked his chin, thinking hard.

"Well, I think Bill might have taken it… but never really went anywhere with it," he said. "But, I was so little back then, I don't remember if he said it was hard or not."

"Well, do you at least know who the teacher is?"

"Um… no."

"Hermione!" called Harry.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning her head from a group of students that she was talking excitedly to. "What is it?"

"Do you know who teaches this class?" asked Harry.

"No," she replied as soon as the bell rang. "But, you'll find out-"

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked the teacher. Harry's, along with most of the other student's jaws fell to the floor.

"Good afternoon students," announced their teacher. "I will be your Spell Invention teacher… my name, if you don't already know it, is Professor Dumbledore."


	7. The Return of the Second Years

Chapter 7- The Return of The Second Years

"Dumbledore?" exclaimed the entire class together. The old man jumped back in surprise from hearing his name said by so many people at once.

"Yes, that is my name," he said.

"You… you're our teacher?" asked one student in surprise.

"You didn't think all I did around here was sign papers and nod my head when people do a job well done?" he asked them. No one said a word. "So, are you saying you're unhappy to see me?"

"No!" said everyone immediately.

Dumbledore smiled at them.

"Oh good," he grinned. "Now, time for class to begin. I'm sure that many of you have heard that this class is extremely hard, almost impossible. Well, I can say that I am behind all of those terrible rumors, but that is just to deter as many as possible from taking this class, because not many possess the talent necessary to do this, and I don't want a hundred little students running around with only a half idea on how to make spells. I would rather have only a handful be an expert at it."

With that, he walked over to his desk at the front of the room, opened a drawer, and took out a small cauldron. He placed it on the top of the desk where everyone could see it.

"This," he said, "is a Ordinator Potion. From this concoction, all spells are created, made, and altered." He took out his wand, and pointed it at the rather calm concoction inside. "Let me show you what a simple MMSC Code looks like. Lumos!" The spell, rather than creating a small beam of light, came out as a thick cloud and flowed right into the potion, making it turn a bright yellow.

"The spell is now inside the potion, and is completely changeable. But, before we alter it just yet, let me show you what code makes this spell up in the first place. Ordinatum!" No beam came out of the wand, but a holographic screen popped right out of the potion, and projected itself into the air. It looked like a Muggle computer or television screen, only larger and perfectly flat. Then, Harry noticed, there were words on the screen:

(Light Spell)

lumos 

size 1

see light light + 100

smell none

hear none

taste none

touch none

Harry had no idea what it meant, but before he could try to make sense of it, Dumbledore started explaining it.

"This is the MMSC Code, the code that tells what should happen as soon as you summon this spell. At the top, in comment parentheses, is the name of the spell, and below it, in the greater than and less than signs, is what you say to use the spell. Usually, a word not heard in normal speech is used, to try and prevent people from accidentally using spells while engaging in conversation. So, words from other languages are used, mostly obscure ones like Latin, though some still prefer French, Japanese, Greek, or even English even though they are still in use today.

"Below that part is where the real fun begins. The size part tells how big the beam is. In Lumos' case, the beam is relatively small, the standard size. The larger the beam, the more magical energy it takes to use the spell.

"And below that indicates what the spell does. The spell can produce something that you see when you use it, smell when you use it, hear when you use it or when it hits

you target, taste when you eat it, or feel when you use it or when your target is it with it. Now, Lumos does not do anything except produce a beam of light, so it does not require more than a single line of code, and minimal magical energy. The 'light light +100' part shows that when you use it, it creates a thin beam, as indicated by the size, that increases the light in the area of that beam by one hundred. The more lines of code that are used and the higher the numbers, the more magical energy is drained upon summoning the spell. Now, any questions?" Hermione, of course, raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger."

"Professor, how are the see, smell, hear, taste, and touch constants declared?" she asked, insightfully. "How does the spell know what they are?" .

"That," said Dumbledore, raising his pitch, "goes all the way back to the creation of magic. As you should know from your History of Magic lessons-"

"Yeah right," whispered Ron to Harry.

"-Majik Premer was the first wizard… ever. He spent years and years trying to invent the first spell, but he couldn't figure out how to change the physical world without actually touching anything. It took him decades to finally figure out a way to change the five senses that we can experience, and since then, not a wizard has ever even touched the code he made that declares those constant's values… even I can barely understand it. But, we don't have to worry about that. All we need to do, nowadays, is to simply put in the words, and tell what should happen to that specific sense."

"But," continued Hermione, "if you can change what the five senses experience, then wouldn't it be possible to change things beyond our physical grasp… like time?"

"But we can already do that," interrupted another student. "Remember Time Turners?"

"Ah," said Dumbledore, putting up his finger. "That is not actually true. Not many wizards know that Time Turners do not actually take you back in time, but really just change the world around us to a specific place in time. You see, every second, a Time Turner sends off an invisible wave throughout the entire universe that records everything it touches, and saves that data inside. When it is turned to return to a certain time, the Time Turner merely accesses the saved time, and 'loads' it into the current world by changing everything to match what it was. So, you are not really time traveling, just returning the universe to look exactly like a certain time."

"But isn't that just as good?" asked the same student. "I mean, what could make actual time travel superior to that?"

"Another very good point," said Dumbledore, scratching his nose. "But if you think about it hard enough, you can find the answer quite easily. You see, a Time Turner only starts sending out waves after it has been created. So, a Time Turner cannot bring you further into the past before the time it has been created. For example, lets say you created a Time Turner on Wednesday the fourth. You wait a week, and you could return to either the tenth, ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, or all the way back to the fourth, the day you created it. But, no matter how many times you turned it, you could not go to the third or before that."

"But don't we have Time Turners that go all the way back for hundreds of years?" asked the same student again, determined to try and prove her point. Dumbledore shook his head.

"No," he said. "In fact, the Time Turner is a very recent invention. The latest someone could go back is about… thirteen years I think."

"So that's why Voldemort didn't just get one of his Death Eaters to use a Time Turner and go back and stop him from going to your house," whispered Ron to Harry. "They hadn't been invented yet!"

"So," said Hermione, trying to wrap up the entire discussion, "if someone were to figure out a way to declare time as a constant, a person would be able to travel backwards and forwards through time as he or she pleased?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore, giving a grin, and showing a twinkle in his eye, "the development of such a thing would be the greatest invention ever in the history of magic, except for its actual invention."

For the rest of the class, Dumbledore showed the students various spells and their MMSC code. He showed them a few more not very complex spells (like Wingardium Leviosa) and some very sophisticated offensive spells (like Stupefy and Porcini Magus). He said they would all, by the end of the year, be able to create spells like these, and everyone was anxious to try and make their own. To get them all excited, he showed them the MMSC of one of his own spells, the Anata Naru Spell, an unavoidable spell that allowed you to switch bodies with someone else. Harry was going to ask if he could try it out, but the bell rang and everyone returned to their common rooms, to do their Potions Homework.

The first week of school went by very quickly and before Harry knew it, Friday arrived, bringing with it the tryout for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. After classes had ended, Harry, along with Ron, walked out to the Quidditch Field, where the tryout would be held. When they arrived, there were ten people, ready to go. Much to Harry's dismay, the first years he had helped last year as a Prefect were all there, just as they had said.

"Hey Harry!" called Chris, the most athletic of them all.

"We've been practicing all summer long!" said Mike.

"And now we're really good!" squeaked Akshay, flexing his tiny muscles.

"I LIKE THE QUAFFLE!" grunted Joe, running after the red ball.

"Ron," whispered Harry. "We can't risk having any of them on the team."

"What should we do then?"

Harry thought for a second."

"I know," he said, "let's just have a Quidditch match. Two Beaters, two Chasers, and a Keeper to each time, five on five. First to… oh say… one hundred wins, and the winning team makes it, and the losers go away."

"But how will that help us get rid of them quickly?" asked Ron.

"Well, we'll make one of them the captain of one of the two teams. That one will surely pick the rest of his friends, and then that team will lose."

"But what about the poor guy who gets stuck with the four of them for tryouts?" asked Ron.

Harry shrugged.

"Oh well," said Harry. "All victories have some sort of sacrifice."

"Yeah, sounds good."

"Alright!" announced Harry to the hopefuls, clearing his throat. "We've decided… after much talk and deliberation… that the best way to hold this tryout would

be to have a Quidditch match. Two Beaters, two Chasers, and a Keeper to each team. First to one hundred wins, and the winning team makes the official Gryffindor one. Got it?"

"Yes!" said the ten of them together.

"Alright," said Harry, putting his arms akimbo. "Who wants to be a captain of a team?"

"OOOHHH! ME!" screamed Joe, bouncing up and down and throwing his hands into the air. Harry stifled down a laugh.

"Alright Joe," he said, pointing to him, "you're up!"

"Yahoo!" he yelled, running up next to Harry.

"Who else?" demanded Harry.

"How about me?" asked Akshay, putting his hand up.

"Uh… no," said Harry. If two of the boys that he didn't want to make the team came up, that would ruin his plan. "How about… you! Dean! Come on up." Dean Thomas shrugged, and walked up on the other side of Harry.

"Alright Joe, you start."

"I choose… Chris!" yelled Joe. Chris walked up next to him.

"Dean?"

"I'll have… Seamus!"

"Chris?"

"Mike!"

"Seamus?"

"Dennis!" Harry was surprised to see Dennis Creevey try out… especially with what happened to his brother last year.

"Mike?"

"Akshay!"

"Dennis?"

"Natalie!"

"Akshay?"

"Aku!"

"Aku! WHERE?" yelled Mike, jumping up.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, feeling sorry for Ak that he was on their team and was now unofficially out of the running.

"Oh…" said Mike, calming down. "It's just that… well, never mind."

"Okay…" said Harry, turning back. "Natalie, who do you want?"

"Emma, the only one left!" S

She skipped up and high fived Natalie.

Harry stood back and looked at the two teams. Now, that he saw them both, neither was really all too desirable. He wished he could just have Fred, George and everyone else back instead.

"Okay!" yelled Ron, rubbing his hands together. "Teams, figure out your positions and Joe, your team goal will be the one on the left and you're team name will be the uh…"

"THE ELITES!" he barked.

"Okay, your team name will be the Elites…" said Ron, wincing. "And your team, Dean, your goal will be down to the right. Your team name will be…"

"The Wizard Duelers!"

"Excellent name," said Ron, grinning. He and Harry waited for the two teams to arrive at their positions and decided who would be playing as what.

"You guys ready?" called Harry to them.

"Yeah!" the both teams yelled back.

"Alright then!" yelled Ron, opening the box of balls, and releasing the two Bludgers. Since there would be no Seekers in this match, the Snitch was unnecessary. "Three… two… one… go!" He opened the straps for the Quaffle and it flew straight into the middle of the match.

"And they're off!" yelled Harry, magically magnifying his voice so the players could hear. "And it's… Joe in possession?" It was true. Through he didn't look like much, Joe shot for the Quaffle faster than any other player and grabbed it before the match was even a quarter second old.

"Don't worry," said Ron. "Seamus will stop him." Harry looked over and saw Seamus shooting right at Joe, looking ready to knock him off. Harry smiled… but then, right at the last second, Joe threw the Quaffle right into the air, flew under Seamus, and since Seamus was distracted by this, Mike easily flew in and grabbed the Quaffle and shot it into the goal, scoring the Elites the first ten points of the game. Harry's jaw fell to the ground.

"Wow, they're good," said Ron.

Harry jabbed him in the side.

"Okay, the score is ten to zero, with the Elites ahead. Come on Wizard Duelers!"

The wizards Duelers were trying their best, but were being badly beaten by the Elites. It was almost scary, how the four of them seemed to be linked telepathically or something; the way the coordinated their movements… it was almost scary. Harry, for a few minutes, suspected that Ak was helping them with his magic, but he kept a close eye on him in his Keeper position, and his wand was in his pocket at all times. Now, just five minutes into the game, the score was ninety to zero.

"Harry… I don't think your plan is working," smiled Ron.

Harry glared at him.

"I think the Wizard Duelers are do for a comeback," he said, returning his attention to the field. Chris suddenly whacked a Bludger in the direction of the Wizard Dueler's goals, and Emma, mistaking it for a Quaffle went after it. This left Mike wide open to pass to Akshay, who was already by that goal, and easily dropped the Quaffle into the goal, scoring Gryffindor their last and final ten points that they needed to win even before Emma realized the mistake she had made.

"Hey!" called Joe, flying down in front of Harry. "We won!"

Harry sighed.

"Yes… yes you did."

"Hey," whispered Ron, "they may be a bit crazy, but hey, they're good!"

"I suppose you're right…." moaned Harry. "Hey, Wizard Duelers… good try." Harry waved to the losing tam as they miserably walked back inside the castle. The rest of the Elites flew down next to Joe.

"I told you we've been practicing," said Akshay, giving Mike a high five.

"Yeah, well, you won," said Harry, folding his arms. "So now, you have to do it again… in our first match against Ravenclaw. Think you're up to it?"

"Yeah!" said the five of them.

"Alright. Ak, you played Keeper, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, well, we've already got a Keeper, and you look like you're more built for action. So, you'll be one of our Beaters. Chris, you too. You're as good as Fred or George. As for you three others, Mike, Akshay, and Joe, you'll be the Chasers. I haven't seen such awesome cooperation between Chasers since the last World Cup."

"Thanks," they said.

"Alright," said Harry, trying to look at his team for their playing ability, not how he personally felt. "Meet back here every night after classes. You'll practice your new positions and who knows… we may win."

"Yay!" yelled the four first years, throwing their brooms into the air.

"Okay… bye," said Harry quickly, walking back up to the castle with Ron while listening to the excited chatter among the four of them.

"Hey!" Harry heard Ak call.

"Yeah?"

"Our first Wizard Duel meeting is tonight… in just a few minutes in fact. You coming?"

"Of course!" said Ron, looking thoroughly excited.

"Alright!" said Ak, running ahead of them back to the castle.

"Harry!" came a voice again.

"What is it?" asked Harry in an annoyed voice. He expected to see one of the second years, but it was actually Professor McGonagall. "Oh, I'm so sorry professor! You see-"

"It's quite alright Harry," she said, waving her hand. Harry noticed, this was one of the first few times she had called him by his first name. The previous time was when he asked her if he could become an Animagus…. What did she have to say.

"A letter just came for you," she said, breathing hard and taking a rather large envelope out of her pocket.

"Why didn't Hedwig just bring it to me?" he asked.

"This one was not delivered by a magical owl," she said, giving him the letter. "It was sent by a Muggle owl. Though they are still competent letter senders, they are not very good at delivering them to specific people. Luckily, I saw it hooting outside a window. The poor thing didn't know what to do."

"Who's it from?"

"Look for yourself," she said. Harry turned the envelop over, and to his surprise, the return address was to Dudley!

"Dudley sent me a letter!" he cried in surprise.

"Yes, that's why I wanted to bring it to you personally," continued Professor McGonagall. "It was probably important."

"Thanks professor," said Harry, continuing on his walk back up the castle and shaking the envelope. From the sound of it, there was definitely something inside… but what could Dudley have sent him?

"Anytime," she called to him, sounding a little breathless. She began walking back as well. Harry and Ron ran all the way to the Gryffindor Common Room, unable to wait much longer to see what was inside. What could Dudley have possibly sent him?

When the two of them arrived in the common room, they walked over to a corner, and opened it up.

"What's that?" asked Hermione, coming over to them.

"Something from Dudley," said Harry, trying to shake whatever was inside it out. Hermione made a face of surprise.

"What's he doing sending you stuff?"

"I dunno, but it must be imp-" Harry stopped there, and it seemed as if the whole world froze. When he saw what had fallen out of the bag and onto the floor, someone could have knocked him over with a feather, and he probably would have turned to dust from the impact. Right there, before the three of them, was a Sorceror's Stone.


	8. The First Match

Chapter 8- The First Match

It looked exactly like the one Harry had found in his first year at school. It was a transparent gold all over with a shiny, red center. Harry's eyes widened and he began to drool from looking at it. With this, he could have all the money he'd ever wanted, and live forever….

"Oh… my… god…." gasped Ron, not blinking.

"What is Dudley doing?" said Hermione softly, not taking her gaze off of it either. "Does he have a collection of these at home or what? Where did he get that from?"

"I… don't know," said Harry, doing the same as the other two, standing there, transfixed onto it.

"Well didn't a note come with it or something?" asked Hermione, still not raising the volume of her voice in the least. Harry dug into the beg and felt a small sheet of parchment. He quickly ripped it out, and read it aloud softly to the two of them. He didn't want anyone else in the room to hear.

Dear Harry,

Remember how we went to see that lady in the funeral home that day during the summer? Well, as it turns out, she was actually someone very important… in your world that is. I think her name was Perenelle Flamel. Does that name ring a bell? Oh well.

Anyway, it seems as though this Stone was her most prized possession and she decided to leave it to whoever bothered to show up at her funeral. Seems as though she's not very popular with the rest of her family… it said in the will that the funeral home sent me that she wouldn't share her Stone with the rest of her family, trying to keep some sort of 'immortality spell' as she called it off of them. Said she'd give it to whoever went through the little trouble of finding where her funeral was. Weird, huh?

Anyway, I hope this letter gets to you. I had to steal this owl from the biology room at my school and I think I told it to deliver it to you. Oh, by the way, try to send him back as soon as possible, so I don't get in trouble and because we need owl pellets for a test on Wednesday.

Dudley

"That lady was Nicholas Flamel's wife!" said Harry, lowering his voice from a yell to a whisper, realizing how loud he was talking before.

"She has her own Sorcerer's Stone?" asked Ron.

"And Dumbledore didn't destroy it?" gasped Hermione.

"Maybe she hid it," guessed Ron "No wonder she stayed alive longer than her husband; he died last year."

"Speaking of Dumbledore," said Harry, "we have to give this to him."

Ron and Hermione looked up at him.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Couldn't we just make a little gold?" begged Ron.

"No way!" said Harry, snatching it from off the ground. "If we do that-" Suddenly, the same holographic map shot out of Harry's ring and into the air. It was massive, depicting the entire world, and someone could see it!

"Get down!" yelled Harry, pushing Ron and Hermione's heads to the ground, and shining the map onto the floor. He looked up for a second… no one had seen it. He breathed a quick sigh of relief.

"What is that?" asked Ron and Hermione together, gazing at the map.

"I- I'm not sure," said Harry, looking at it too.

"What are those?" asked Ron, pointing to the four colored dots.

"Like I said… I don't know yet," said Harry, trying to keep his voice down.

"You mean, you've seen this map before?" asked Hermione.

Harry swallowed hard

"Yes. Once before, in Dumbledore's office."

"His office? Why there? What triggered it?"

"I don't know," said Harry, letting go of the Stone, "I just touched this watch and-" Harry suddenly noticed that the map had disappeared.

"Harry… touch the Stone again…" said Hermione quietly. Slowly, Harry reached his finger out, until it touched the Stone. The closer it got, the more Harry's finger burned, and the brighter it shone green. The instant Harry touched it, the map appeared again. He took his finger off, it disappeared, touched it, it reappeared, let go, it went away.

"So the Stone is what triggers it," said Ron.

"No," said Harry, standing up and putting the Stone in his pocket. "I didn't touch a Stone in Dumbledore's office. It was a watch."

"Maybe it was made out of tiny Sorcerer's Stones," suggested Ron.

"Ron," said Hermione exasperantly, "how many Sorceror's Stones so you think there are in the world?"

Ron shrugged.

"A lot?"

"No," said Hermione. "This one isn't even supposed to be here. There's certainly not enough to make a watch out of. What I'd like to know is… what is that map?"

"And what the dots are for," added Ron.

"Well, we can ask Dumbledore all about that when we see him in the office," said Harry. "Let's go. We may still be able to make the Wizard Duel meeting is we leave now." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I agree with Harry," said Ron, suddenly interested upon hearing that Wizard Duel was involved. "Let's go!" The three of them walked to Dumbledore's office, their heads buzzing and on the verge of explosion. How were the Stone and the ring linked? What was that map? What did it show the locations of? Suddenly, when they were walking down a hallway, Ak jumped out in front of them.

"Harry! Ron!" he yelled. "Get in here! You're going to miss the meeting!"

"Err…" mumbled Harry, wanting to get to Dumbledore as fast as possible. "We… have to go somewhere."

"What place could be more important at this time than here?" asked Ak, shocked.

"Nothing!" said Ron, pushing his way in front of the two of them. "In fact, we were headed here right now!"

"Ron!" whispered Harry angrily. They had more pressing matters.

"We can go see Dumbledore anytime," whispered Ron back. "This club only meets… what? A few times a year?"

"Yeah, that's about right," said Ak, obviously hearing them.

"Exactly. Let's go!"

"Fine…" agreed Harry. "But only for a while!"

"Alright alright," said Ron, grabbing his deck out of his pocket and running into the room. Harry and Hermione followed him inside and Harry was surprised to see that besides the five new students, there were only two other students in the room, and Harry had never seen either of them before. Evidently, the club hadn't been as popular here as the new students had hoped.

"Where is everyone?" asked Ron. Ak shrugged.

"We're hoping the club will pick up by the second meeting," he said. "But, no matter right now. Let's get this meeting underway. Harry, you and I will play a little exhibition game, just to show Hermione and these other two here how to play. Are you up to that?"

"Oh yeah," said Harry, taking out his deck and sitting down on the floor. Ak gave out a laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Harry," he said, "we do not play on the floor! No… we have something specially prepared for the club." Ak walked over and opened a closet in the room. From it, he brought a small table that looked relatively normal, except for a small hole in each corner. Ak set it down in front of Harry, and beckoned him to sit.

"Put your deck of cards in the hole in the corner," said Ak. Harry followed his instruction and slid it in. It fit perfectly. Then, just as the deck slid in, Harry's side of the table began to glow, and his deck shone brightly. When Ak put his in, his side of the table did the same as well.

"What is this?" asked Harry, amazed.

"It is a holographic dueling table," said Ak. "Instead of just battling with cards, you battle with the real things…. Makes for a much more interesting game." Harry gazed at the table, wanting more than anything to see how this was going to look. Suddenly, five figures appeared before Harry: a wand with a Stupefy Spell coming out, another Stupefy, a Merging Spell, a Disarming Spell, a Quick-Attack Spell, a phoenix, and a house elf.

"What is this?" asked Harry again.

"Oh, that's your starting hand," said Ak. "It is automatically dealt to you, along with the card you get at the beginning of each turn."

"But, you can see the cards in my hand!" gasped Harry.

"Can you see mine?" asked Ak, smiling. Harry looked over. Apparently, the holographic cards in you hand were only visible to you. "Here, I'll go first…to show you how to play with this new thing."

"Alright," said Harry, looking at his house elf that was playing with his phoenix. They looked incredibly realistic, only they were about four inches high.

"Alright! Listen up!" called Ak to the group. "Watch us, and you'll find out how to play the game!" All of the kids walked over, and surrounded the table. "As most of you know, you get two actions per turn, and an action is either playing a fighter, an effect, using a fighter's ability, or drawing an additional card. For my turn, I will use my first action by playing a fighter: Boggart!"

Ak reached and grabbed hold of one of the cards in his hand that were invisible to Harry. He picked it up, and placed it on the field. There was a flash of light in the spot he chose for a second, then the Boggart appeared in its normal form: a floating blob.

"For my next action," continued Ak, "I will draw an additional card. Since you can only attack at the beginning of your turn, and I have used my two actions, my turn is now over. Harry, you may begin."

"Thank you Ak," said Harry, trying not to laugh at him explaining in detail each move that he made. The table automatically drew his card for him; it was a pensieve. The blue, smoking cauldron looked like a miniature version of a real one. After thinking for a second, Harry made his first move.

"For my first action," began Harry, "I will play a phoenix." Following what Ak did, Harry grabbed hold of his holographic phoenix that way busy flapping its fiery wings, picked it up, and placed it on the field. There was a small burst of color, and it appeared in the spot he had placed it. Immediately, the boggart turned into a phoenix too, due to its special ability.

"Next, I will play a stupefy spell on Ak's boggart." Harry picked up the holographic wand with the green spell coming out, and placed it on the Boggart. After the colors flashed, Ak's boggart returned to its normal form, and fell onto the table from its hovering position. It wasn't quite dead, but severely wounded, and unable to attack.

"Nice move there, Harry," said Ak. "But, it's my turn now!" The table drew his card for him. "I choose not to attack with my boggart, since it is so weak, would be slaughtered by Harry's phoenix, and it is unable to due to the Stupefy Spell having been played one it. So, I will begin my turn by playing a Flobberworm card." He dragged the it onto the table, and the pathetic grub appeared. Suddenly, the Boggart disappeared. "And, playing Flobberworm requires that I discard one of my fighters in play, so my boggart is gone."

"Hah, what a waste," said Harry. Flobberworm was a very pathetic card. It had almost no power, and it cost you a fighter to play. Ak was worse than he had thought.

"That's what you think," smiled Ak. "But, I still have another action. I will play… Cloning Chamber!" Ak dragged it out into the field of play, and a small, metallic box appeared that was giving off smoke and bouncing up and down a little.

"What does that do?" asked Harry, having never seen that card before.

Ak smiled.

"It's a very rare card," he grinned. "At the beginning and end of each of my turns, I get to make a copy of a creature that I have that has a power of one. So, Harry, meet my other worm." The Cloning Chamber made a small explosion sound, and a second Flobberworm appeared next to the other. "Your turn Harry."

"Yeah yeah, two Flobberworms is still is nothing," he said, the table giving him his next card: another pensieve. "Now, I attack one of your worms." Harry's phoenix

dived at the worm, causing it to burst into flames and turn into a small pile of ash that quickly disappeared. Harry smiled. This was Wizard Duel as it was meant to be played.

"Now, I shall play a house elf," announced Harry, dragging it out and making it appear. "And, I shall use a Merging Spell to combine my phoenix and house elf into a superior creature." Harry moved the spell over the two fighters and they both shone brightly for a second and then melted together. After giving off a quick, white flash, the new creature appeared: a house elf that had extra-long phoenix wings and four, flaming arms.

"Your turn Ak," said Harry, trying to sound menacing and intimidating. But, it wasn't working. Ak looked as calm and cool as he ever did. He merely allowed the table to giving him his card, and then begin his turn. Immediately, another Flobberworm appeared on the table, due to the Cloning Chamber.

"Alright… I shall begin by playing… another cloning chamber!" He dragged it out, right next to the other one. Harry felt a single drop of sweat come down his forehead. Now the Flobberworms would quadruple twice during his turn….

"Then, I will draw a another card, ending my turn, and I gain six more worms," said Ak. As soon as the word left his mouth, six new Flobberworms appeared, making for a grand total of eight. "Your turn."

"Yeah yeah," said Harry, trying to remain calm with the gaze of the eight other members of the club on him. His new fighter, the half house elf and phoenix attacked one of the Flobberworms, lowering the number by one. Harry drew his card: another pensieve! He had to get rid of some of those later.

"Alright," began Harry, "I'm going to play a disarming spell on one of the Cloning Chambers!" Harry dragged his card over the Chamber, and watched it disappear, right into Ak's discard pile. "Good, one down. Now, I'll play a pensieve." The bowl appeared on the board, appearing to have the mystery liquid in it too.

"My turn," said Ak, still not looking shaken. He drew his card, fourteen new Flobberworms appeared, and he gave a wide smile. "Well then, for my first action, I shall play another Cloning Chamber!" He dragged it out and it appeared, taking away some of Harry's hope with it. "Then for my second action… yet another Cloning Chamber!"

Harry's mouth dropped, and he heard some laughs from the observing crowd as it appeared in play. "I'll end my turn now… and gain sixty three more Flobberworms!" They all appeared, now as a pyramid of Flobberworms, stacked on top of each other, peaking at about a foot high. They were making the most horrible sucking sound and giving off some sort of horrible liquid that flowed all the way down the side and onto the surface of the table. Whether you were fighting it or in control of it, it was not a pleasant sight

Harry swallowed hard and began his turn. If all of those attacked his half-house elf-half-phoenix fighter, it would be killed instantly, allowing Ak to deal all the damage directly to his deck the next turn, and annihilate him. He had to find a way to protect his card and his deck… then he remembered! The pensieves! After his fighter attacked and killed a single Flobberworm, Harry drew his card (a Stupefy) and began his plan.

"For my first action, I will put my fighter into my pensieve." The half-house elf-half-phoenix disappeared, and the pensieve turned red. "Just so that you know," said Harry, talking to the crowd who didn't know as much as he or Ak, "a pensieve, when you

put a fighter into one, gains power equal to the fighter's power, but it cannot attack, only defend. When the pensieve dies, the fighter you put in it comes out unscathed."

"Yeah yeah, keep going with your turn," said Ak, looking very satisfied with himself.

"And for my last action, I will play another pensieve." Harry moved it out and watched it appear right next to his other one. He would have to stall for a while until he could find a way to wipe out all of the Flobberworms at once or kill the Cloning Chambers.

"My turn!" said Ak excitedly, getting his card. As soon as it went into his hand, two hundred and fifty two more Flobberworms appeared on the table. "First of all, I will attack with all of my Flobberworms!" The mass of grubs, after vibrating for a few seconds, fell over right onto Harry's pensieve with his fighter inside, making it break open, and his half-house elf-half-phoenix to come out. "Now, even though I don't need to, for my actions, I will play two Cloning Spells on my Flobberworms, doubling them each time, giving me a total of… one thousand three hundred and forty-four! Now, I end my turn, and get an additional four thousand thirty two!"

The amount of worms was almost overwhelming. The pile went ten feet off of the table now, and took up most of the surface of it, except for a small area designated for Harry's two cards. Ak gave a superior-looking smile.

"Don't get too cocky," said Harry, trying to sound cool, and drawing his card (an Avada Kedavra curse… useless against the Flobberworms). Harry played his other pensieve, and put his fighter into one of them, trying to stall for more time… something had to happen to turn the tides of this battle!

But, it was now Ak's turn, and he got and additional sixteen thousand, one hundred twenty-eight bugs. He attacked the pensieve, breaking it, and forcing the fighter out. Ak skipped his actions, just wanting to get this battle with as soon as possible. He got sixty four thousand, five hundred twelve more.

"That Cloning Chamber card should be banned," commented Harry, attacking one of them with his half-house elf-half-phoenix.

"Oh Harry," laughed Ak behind his ever growing pile of grotesqueness. "That card is so rare… I'm probably the only person on Earth with four of them. I've had to trade away most of my collection to get them from other players."

"Yeah yeah, sure." Harry drew his card, and was happy to see it wasn't another stupefy, it was a Sap Strength Spell. "For my first action, I will use The Sap Strength Spell, allowing me to improve one of my fighter's power by one per fighter my opponent has in play. My target is obviously the half-house elf-half-phoenix, making his power… eighty thousand, and twenty six."

"What's the point?" laughed Ak. "Even if your fighter has a million power, it can still only attack one fighter at a time!"

"Yeah, I know," groaned Harry. This was his last turn to stall… something had to happen soon. "Then, I will put my fighter into my last pensieve, and end my turn." Ak shrugged, and drew his card. He attacked the pensieve, breaking it, and forcing the high powered half-house elf-half-phoenix out. His pile of grubs tripled, he skipped his actions, and then it doubled again… giving an insane amount of Flobberworms… seven-hundred and seventy-four thousand, one hundred forty-four.

It was now Harry's turn, and all eyes were on him. All of his pensieves were gone and he had to get something good this turn or else his fighter would be destroyed and he would lose the turn afterwards. Harry closed his eyes, and hoped for a miracle…. The table gave him his card.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, and gave a massive smile.

"For my first action!" announced Harry, feeling great at the promise of victory. "I shall play… Voldemort!" There were a few shrieks of surprise and fear when Voldemort appeared on the field, in all his horrible glory compressed into four inches. Harry saw Ak's eyes grow wide. "And as you obviously know, Ak, Voldemort has a special ability. When he comes into play, all fighters that your opponent controls are sent to the discard pile! Goodbye Flobberworms!" In an instant, the pile of Flobberworms that was practically overflowing off of the table and bursting through the rood disappeared, allowing Harry to get a better view of Ak's terrified face.

"And for my last action, I shall use the Quick-Attack Spell on my half-house elf-half-phoenix fighter. And, Ak, since you have no other fighters out, all the damage goes directly to your deck, making all your cards in it go to the discard pile, and causing you to lose the game!"

"Yay!" cheered Hermione.

"Go Harry!" yelled Ron, throwing his hands into the air.

"I… lost…" gasped Ak, letting his forehead fall into his hands. All the lights and cards on the table disappeared and Harry removed his deck from the slot.

"Good game," he said to Ak, offering his hand. Ak stood up, brushed himself off, and shook Harry's hand, trying to force a smile.

"Yeah, good game," he said. "You know, that was my first lost… ever."

"Well, first time for everything," said Harry. Then, checking his watch, "Oh! I'm sorry Ak, but we've got to go, we're terribly late!"

"Yeah," whispered Ak, looking through his cards. "Go ahead."

"Alright," called Harry, walking out the door with Ron and Hermione following behind him. "See you later!" When they walked out of the room, Harry heard all of the kids in the classroom suddenly burst into chatter, talking about the match, and wanting to start some games of their own.

"Wow," said Ron, "you were saved by Voldemort…. The irony is overwhelming."

"Shut up," said Harry. He hoped he didn't hurt Ak too badly.

"Oh don't worry Harry," said Hermione, as if she read his mind. "That loss probably did more for Ak than it hurt him. The tale of that match will spread around the school, and the club will gain popularity. By the next meeting, there'll probably be many more members."

"Yeah, all eager to see my Voldemort card," groaned Harry. He wasn't sure how he felt. He had won, but it was because of Voldemort. Even though he was only a card… it still felt as though he had actually helped him win, which was not a good feeling.

They soon arrived right outside of Dumbledore's office, and were surprised to see Professor McGonagall standing outside.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked her.

"I could ask you three the same," she said, looking awfully surprised. "I'm locking up the room, but why are you here?"

"We uh… had to ask Professor Dumbledore something," said Harry.

"Well, I'm sorry to say, but Dumbledore has left for the Ministry on urgent business. He is the Minister you know, and has plenty of other work."

"When did he leave?" asked Hermione.

"Just a few minutes ago," said Professor McGonagall. Harry could have kicked himself in the head. If he had only not stopped for the meeting, he could have given the Stone to Dumbledore.

"Well, when is he coming back?" asked Harry.

"Oh, not for several days," she sighed. "I'm afraid he won't be back for at least a week or two."

"Well, thanks anyway," sighed Harry.

"By the way," asked Professor McGonagall happily, "what was in the package Harry?"

"Oh… that," said Harry. He had to think of something. "Err- it was… some of Hedwig's Owl pellets that I left at home."

"Owl pellets?" asked Professor McGonagall, Hermione, and Ron together.

"Yeah… I have a whole collection of them…" said Harry, trying to smile.

"Well, I'm not going to pry into your personal life," said Professor McGonagall, wincing at Harry, and walking away. "But I will tell you to return to your common room now."

"Yes professor," said the three of them, walking back.

"Now what are we going to do?" asked Ron.

"We'll just have to hide the Stone from ourselves and not use it for a while," said Harry.

"Yeah, easier said than done," commented Hermione. "Even I'm tempted to use it! Infinite life and money…. I mean, come on!"

"Yeah, come on!" said Ron.

"I guess I'll have to watch it then," sighed Harry, giving the password (piez) and stepping inside. "I'll hide it somewhere and put a trap on it so none of us, or anyone else for that matter, can touch it."

"Fine," said Hermione, walking to the girl's dormitory from the empty common room. "Good night." Harry and Ron walked up to their room, and found everyone else to have already gone to bed. Harry opened one of his drawers in the stand next to his bed, put the Stone inside it, and put a trap on it that he learned in Charms. He put the most dangerous one he knew on it, one that caused a small explosion if you touched it without saying the password first, which he designated as 'Dumbledore'.

Harry climbed into bed, and tried to fall asleep… but the Stone was calling to him. He tried to concentrate on Neville's breathing, but it didn't help. The temptation to use the Stone was so much, Harry thought his brain was going to leak out of his ears…. He didn't get much sleep that night.


	9. The Ring of the Ancients

Chapter 9- The Ring of The Ancients

Two weeks went by, and Dumbledore had not yet returned. The Spell Invention class was on the honor system; the students filed in and they were expected to read out of their books all period. Though Hermione and a few others did this, the rest of the class took the time to practice playing Wizard Duel. Hermione was right: the news of Harry's magnificent victory over Ak had spread like wildfire around the school and now almost everyone was into the game.

Each day after Quidditch practice, Harry, Ron and Hermione made it a habit to head to the library, to see if they could find anything about Harry's ring, or any link it had to the Sorcerer's Stone. Even though the three of them had looked through practically every book last year to study for the O.W.L.s, they were surprised to find a few that they had never gone at before. However, each day they came no closer to finding any connection or any information at all.

It was during the trips to one of these such sessions that Harry heard a most peculiar noise coming from the bathroom.

"What was that?" he asked Ron and Hermione.

"Oh no," said Ron. "It came from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."

The noise came again. It sounding like an insane donkey yelling as it tried to swim in an acid bath… not the most pleasant thing in the world.

"Should we investigate?" asked Harry, leaning on the door to the room.

"I don't know…" said Hermione. "Who knows what could be going on."

"All the more reason to look," grinned Harry, pushing the door open and walking in.

"No no!" scolded Myrtle to a group of ghosts. She pointed to her forehead. "Sing up here! In your head voice!" Her voice's frequency went off the charts as she sang, creating that horrible noise he heard before.

"Myrtle," said Harry, covering his ears and looking at the groups of ghosts. Each one that resided inside Hogwarts was there: Nearly Headless Nick, The Fat Friar, The Grey Lady, The Bloody Baron, and even Peeves! What was going on? "What are you doing here?"

"Just teaching these ingrates how to sing," smiled Myrtle.

Smiled?

"Whatever for?" asked Hermione.

"To help them on their journey towards becoming spirits," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Singing brings out the inner life!"

"You're all trying to become spirits?" asked Harry.

"Why else would we be caught here?" asked Peeves, floating all around the room.

"Well, you may want to learn how to sing before you teach others," said Ron, still covering his ears from the last fortissimo of sound.

"Oh… I think I do just fine!" said Myrtle, turning back towards her small crowd of ghosts. She 'sang' again, and then the group tried to copy what she did. It was horrible, far worse than any torture, Harry could imagine; even worse than the Cruciatus Curse.

"Well then, we'll be on our way," said Harry, covering his ears again and backing up slowly towards the exit.

"Wait Harry!" cried Hermione, tugging at his shirt. "Look over there."

Harry looked over where she was pointing and saw a small pile of books laid on top of a sink. "Maybe what we need is in there." The three of them walked over and Harry picked up a book.

"The Afterlife: A Ghost's Guide," read Harry. "Hey Myrtle! What are these?"

"Those are some books I got out of the library about sprits, the afterlife and such," she said, not looking at him. Harry returned it to the small pile, and looked at book after book, hoping to find something of interest.

Suddenly, one caught his eye. It was an old and tattered black book with no title, only a large picture on the front: and it looked just like Harry's skull ring! He quickly opened it up to see if there was anything inside. But, all that there was were words… and they were definitely not English. The characters looked more like odd combinations of squares, triangles, small dots and curvy lines.

"Hey!" called Hermione, seeing the book in Harry's hands. "That's Ptomruv, one of the ancient runes! Let me see that!" She snatched the book out of Harry's hands and opened to the first page.

"Hey, I thought you said you dropped that class," said Ron.

"No I didn't," said Hermione, looking at the first page. "I only said I dropped Divination and Muggle Studies. I never said anything about Ancient-" Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Hey! There's a description of your ring here, Harry!"

"What does it say about it?" asked Harry, leaning over.

"It says that that it is called the Ring of the Ancients," read Hermione, moving her fingers under the odd words. "It says the Ring shows the locations of the four ingredients of the Immortal Potion when it touches one of them."

"Don't you mean the Almost Immortal Potion?" asked Harry.

"No, this is a different one," said Hermione, still reading. "According to this, the Immortal Potion would allow the drinker to become someone capable of not only living forever, but also having the power to control space and time."

"So… basically a god?" asked Ron.

"Yes, someone who would be able to change the universe to anything they desire," read Hermione. "It says that the Ancients concealed the four ingredients inside everyday objects to stop so many people from becoming gods. They also made the Ring they created a mandatory ingredient in the potion by changing its code."

"Hah, so that's why there's so many polytheistic religions," commented Ron.

"However," continued Hermione, still reading. "The magnificence of the ingredients couldn't be hidden perfectly inside the objects. All four of them made the things they were hidden in glow brightly when brought close to each other and look especially beautiful."

"Does it say what the ingredients are hidden in?" asked Harry.

"Um… yes!" exclaimed Hermione. "The Gomotornice is hidden inside the Glove, the Havomotornice is hidden inside the Watch, the Bomotornice is hidden inside the Bracelet, the Sorcerer's Stone was hidden inside the Necklace, and the Ring was… well, the Ring."

"Does it say anything else?" questioned Harry, wanting to know as much as he could about this magnificent item that not more than ten minutes ago he thought was just a cool piece of jewelry.

"Well… yes," groaned Hermione, looking like she was struggling to read some words. "But this book is so old that most of the rest is smudged out. Sorry."

"So let me see here," said Ron, trying to bring everything together. "Harry has a ring, that, when it touches a Legendary Ingredient brings up a map that shows the location of the other three that, when brought together, allow someone to practically become a god?"

"Uh, yes," said Hermione.

"Wow, that seems a little… much."

"So that Watch in Dumbledore's drawer was really the Havomotornice," said Harry, finally understanding. "But why would he have one?"

"Probably to hide it from Voldemort," said Hermione, closing the book. "As long as he has even one of the ingredients, Voldemort wouldn't be able to make the potion."

"So why don't we find out where the rest of the ingredients are and give them to Dumbledore too?" asked Ron. "Harry, all you have to do is touch the Stone again, we can look at the map for where the dots are and then see if we can get them."

"We will," said Harry, "after the Quidditch game tomorrow."

The three of them left the bathroom, thanking Myrtle for her help. Even though she didn't know what she had helped them with, she said, "You're welcome," and waved them out of the room.

"Harry!" called Ron. "Get up! Our match is starting soon!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm going," Harry yawned back. He heard Ron sigh and close the door behind him as he left the dorm. Harry groaned again. For the first time in a while, he had gotten a good night's rest and didn't really feel like getting up at the moment. Knowing what the Ring was and what it could do made him feel a little better… though not too much. With this new power came a new responsibility.

Harry yawned again and decided it was now really time to get up. He tried to throw the covers off of himself, but to his surprise, he found that his arms and legs were strapped to the bed with magical rope!

"What the?" asked Harry, struggling to get out. Suddenly, the blankets were pulled off of his bed, as if by an invisible force. What was going on? If only he could reach his wand on the table next to him….

"Is you ready to go?" asked Dobby, who abruptly appeared out of thin air right next to Harry.

"Dobby! Is this your doing?"

"I is so sorry sir," he squeaked, sounding very guilty. "But I is having to do it. It is for your own good Mr. Harry Potter."

"What are you trying to protect me from?" demanded Harry, struggling to free himself. "What could possibly be so dangerous?"

"I cannot say," gasped Dobby.

"But," said Harry, stopping his struggling for a moment and deciding to play along for a while, "if you're going to take me now anyways, why can't you tell me?" Dobby looked at him for a second, and tilted his head to the side.

"Fine, I is able to say now," he squealed. "Harry Potter is in danger of… the field trip!"

"The one to the pyramid?" asked Harry.

"Yes," he squealed.

"What's so bad about? Why was I in danger of it?"

"There is no time!" said Dobby, looking as though he were charging another one of his blue orbs that he used back at the Dursley's . "We is having to leave now!"

"But wait!" gasped Harry, getting an idea. "I need my… owl pellet collection!" Dobby stopped charging his spell.

"Where is it?" he asked.

"Right there," Harry said, nodding in the direction of the bottom drawer of his night stand. "Inside the drawer." Dobby walked over to the drawer, put his hand on the knob and pulled it open, causing a fantastic explosion that blew Dobby over on his back. It was a good thing he set that trap!

Harry's wand flew into the air, landing right next to his hand. He grabbed it, performed the counter curse on the ropes and then jumped out of bed. He quickly fixed his nightstand, that was now no more than a pile of ash, and put the trap back on the drawer containing the Stone. After slipping his Quidditch robes on over his everyday clothes, Harry left the room, laving Dobby there. He didn't dare to wake him right now, in case he tried to take him away again. Hopefully he would just wake up on his own and leave… hopefully.

Harry ran downstairs and to the Gryffindor Quidditch room, where everyone was waiting for him.

"Where have you been?" demanded Ron.

"Dobby trouble," responded Harry with a sigh, still buttoning up the top of his robe. Ron nodded in agreement, understanding perfectly.

"Alright team," said Harry rubbing his hands together, a few minutes before their first game of the year. Though he and Ron were veterans, the other five were looking a little scared. Even Ak was showing a few signs of nervousness. "I know you're all a little anxious about the game, but we've practiced long and hard and we're ready to go! You with me?"

"Yeah!" they all said through their shaking voices.

"Alright! Let's go!" yelled Harry, throwing his arm into the air. He swung open the doors that lead to the field, the sun flew right into the room, and the team charged outside. The stands were filled with people, excited to see the first match of the year.

"And let's welcome the Gryffindor team now… even though they are late," came a new voice over the speaker. Lee Jordan had graduated last year and now Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin Sixth Year, was the new commentator.

"Alright Harry, get on over there and shake the captain's hand," said Madam Hooch, flying over on her broom. Harry ran over to the middle of the field, anxious to see who the Ravenclaw captain was.

"Hello Harry," she said when Harry arrived in the center of the field. Harry didn't even have to look up to see who it was.

"Hello Cho," he said, grabbing her hand. Harry had only talked to her a few times this year and she had never said anything about becoming captain. "You're the captain now?"

"Certainly am," she said, letting go and smiling. "But just because I'm your girlfriend, that doesn't mean I'll go easy on you!"

"Heh, don't expect anything less than my best against you," said Harry.

"I would certainly be disappointed if you did any less," she said, walking away.

"How about we do something later?" called Harry.

"Only if you win!" yelled Cho back.

Harry ran back to his team with a new reason to do well. The six of them mounted their brooms and got ready to go. Madam Hooch flew over with the chest of balls, opened it, and let the Bludgers and Snitch fly away.

"Teams ready?" called Zabini. "On your marks… get set… go!"

Madam Hooch let the Quaffle out of the box and let it fly right up into the air. Before Harry even blinked, Joe already had the red ball in his hand. Ron flew backwards to the goals to begin defending, and Harry started scouting for the Snitch.

This is where things all started going wrong.

All of a sudden, Harry was feeling incredibly warm, as if he were in the middle of a massive inferno. He looked down, and saw that his guess was almost dead on. It appeared as though the entire ground was no longer sand, but a giant blaze. Harry almost fell off his broom from looking at it, and tried to see how the rest of the team, and everyone in the stands, was reacting to it. To his surprise, though, no one else except for him seemed to had noticed that the entire ground was on fire!

"Hey Ron!" yelled Harry, sweating like a pig.

"Yeah?" he asked, not having much to do. The Ravenclaws were lucky if they could ever get their hands on the Quaffle, much less get it all the way to the goal.

"Don't you see… the fire?"

"Fire?" he asked. Harry saw a massive fiery blast of ash, dust and fire go off below him that he didn't even seem to notice. It bellowed up into the sky, creating a small, black cloud. "What fire?"

"That- you know the… that one right- oh…. Never mind," mumbled Harry. What was going on? Why was he the only one seeing all Hell opening up right below them?

"And Gryffindor scored again!" called Zabini, trying to sound excited, even though he was a Slytherin. "Making it now thirty to zero!" Harry shook his head. He must have missed a few scores while he was trying to make sense of the fire. Now he looked over at the Ravenclaw goals and nearly fainted at what he saw. Every member of the Ravenclaw team was no longer riding a broom… but a dragon! Each beast was massive with red and black scales all over, spikes protruding every few feet, and breathing fire all over the place.

"AAAHHH!" yelled Harry, falling off of his broom for a second, but grabbing back on with one arm. "DRAGONS!" Harry heard screams come from the crowd as everyone turned their heads in every direction, trying to see where the dragons were.

"And Harry Potter has just made an interesting announcement, saying that there are dragons somewhere," said Zabini. "But, there is not one in sight."

"What are you talking about?" screamed Harry, pulling himself back onto his broom. "They're right over there!" Harry pointed at the Ravenclaw team that was getting closer and closer every second. Wasn't someone going to do something about it? The dragons could destroy the entire stadium! The entire school even! "The entire team… they're… riding them…."

"Harry," asked Akshay, riding over to him. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, you're seeing dragons," said Chris.

"I'm okay," gasped Harry, seeing them breathing fire all over the stands and his teammates, but they weren't bursting into flames. What was going on? He had to end this match quickly… he had to find the Snitch.

And he didn't have to look long. There, right below Harry, and near the fiery ground was the golden Snitch. He pointed his broom towards it and shot down right towards it. He put out his hand, ready to grab it… then crashed right into the fiery ground. The Snitch wasn't really there! It had been an illusion!

Harry's broom stuck into the sandy surface and he went flying. He did a roll in the air and landed on his back, right inside the flames. Harry started running around, putting water spells on himself, hearing laughs from the stands and comments from Zabini. But he didn't care! He was on fire!

Suddenly, there was a sound like thunder above, and Harry looked up, hoping it was rain. It was rain… only not the kind Harry was accustomed to. This time, it was raining flaming stones. Millions of them were quickly falling from the sky, all ready to fall right on the field. It was as if there was a fiery meteor shower, and all of them were aimed right at Harry.

"AAAHHH! STONES!" he yelled, curling up and preparing for the impact. He could feel his body on fire, the dragons beating above, and the rocks about to land on him. Then, all of it came down at once, and an instant later, everything went black.

"Good! You is waking up!" came a voice, from not too far away. Harry felt the world slowly but surely coming back into focus and saw the all too familiar little elf

standing on the bed right in front of him. "Go away Dobby!" Harry put on his glasses, and found that he was in a bed in the hospital wing.

"Is you ready to go now?" he asked with a smile on.

"Why would I be any more ready to leave now than this morning?" asked Harry. Then, he remembered why he was in this room. Harry quickly put two and two together and figured out who was responsible for what happened. "You did all that at the Quidditch match! You made me see all those things that weren't really there! The fire, the dragons, the Snitch and the stones! You made all that!"

"I is so sorry," squeaked Dobby. "But now you is having to be ready to go, what with all the embarrassment you is must be having now."

"Dobby," said Harry seriously, "when will you understand? I am NEVER leaving! Got it?"

There was a knock at the door.

"I is having to go now!" said Dobby quickly, disappearing. The door opened and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team walked up to Harry's bed. He gave a groan. They had to have lost the game; without a Seeker, how could they have possibly won?

"What happened?" asked all six of them together.

"Dobby happened," sighed Harry, lying back down on his pillow.

"What did Dobby do?" asked Ron.

"What didn't he do?" said Harry. "He made me see all these things that weren't there… making me fall and collapse."

"Oh well," said Ak. "You shouldn't feel too bad. I mean, we won anyways."

"Wha- what?" asked Harry, amazed at what he just heard. How could they possibly win without a Seeker? It was impossible… wasn't it? "How did you win?"

"I made a Snitch Slip," said Ak.

"You did a what?" asked Harry.

"A Snitch Slip," repeated Ak. "I caught the Snitch even though I was a Beater. Whenever a player catches the Snitch that's not the Seeker, it gives the opposing team one hundred and fifty points."

"So how did that let us win?"

"We got one hundred sixty points," explained Chris, "and then Ak caught the Snitch. The final score was one hundred and sixty to one hundred fifty in our favor."

"Ravenclaw didn't get any points?" gasped Harry.

"Not a one," said Mike.

"And you got one hundred and sixty?"

"Sure did," said Akshay.

Harry was amazed. His team of second years and a sixth year got one hundred and sixty points like it was nothing. Harry hoped he wasn't becoming obsolete.

"You really know the game well, Ak," commented Harry. "I didn't know anything about Snitch Slips."

"Not many people do. I think this is only the second or third time its ever been done."

"But what we all want to know," said Joe, "is what happened to you out there, Harry. What made you fall like that?" Harry was about to respond, when madam Pomfrey came over in her usual manner.

"Now's not the time for Mr. Potter to be reliving that event," she said. "Out with you all for now! Once he is released, you can ask him all the questions you want." She pushed them all out the door. Ron quickly ran out ahead of them all and everyone else waved bye to Harry as they parted

"Ah! A mouse!" squeaked Joe, jumping into Mike's arms.

"Oof! Get out!" yelled Mike, dropping Joe on the floor.

"What's going on?" demanded Madam Pomfrey. "I cannot have my hospital infested with rats!"

"It couldn't have been a mouse," said Akshay, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I didn't see anything."

"Well, something ran by my foot!" pouted Joe. Harry looked at him. How could a kid be so good at Quidditch and yet be so… Joe?

"Well if it wasn't a rodent than it was probably just your imagination or something. Now, get out!" yelled Pomfrey again. The five of them quickly left the room, not wanting to summon her wrath.

"Well, who knows what it could be," she sighed. "I'd better go get some Rodent-Catching Potion from Professor Snape just to be safe. You'll be alright while I'm gone, won't you Harry?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then, I'll be right back."

She left the room, shut the door and walked away, leaving Harry quite alone.

"Hey Harry!" came a whisper. "I've got some bad news."

"What?" called Harry, turning his head in every direction. "Dobby, get out of here!"

"No, this is Ron," he laughed.

"Ron! So it was you who walked by Joe's foot. Where are you?"

"I didn't meant to do that," laughed Ron. "But, it was funny anyways. I'm right here, against the wall." Harry looked over to try and see him, but Ron was totally camouflaged. It was as if he was wearing an Invisibility Cloak. "Not the first time being an Animagus has helped me! Chameleons rock!"

"You've got that right," said Harry, feeling awkward talking to no one. "But, what's the bad news?"

Harry heard Ron swallow hard.

"Harry," he said, not sounding too happy. "The Sorcerer's Stone… its been stolen."


	10. Neville the Death Eater

Chapter 10- Neville The Death Eater

"Its been stolen?" yelled Harry.

"Shh!" came a different voice. "You don't want her to come out again, do you?"

"Hermione?" asked Harry. "Are you here too?"

"Yeah, I've been waiting here ever since you came first in," she said. "Your Invisibility Cloak works very well."

"Well, there's no reason it shouldn't," said Harry, lowering his voice. "Anyway, how do you know it's gone?"

"I went upstairs to change before coming down to see you," explained Ron, "and I saw the drawer you put it in. It was opened up and the Stone wasn't inside."

"How did you know I put it in the drawer?" asked Harry.

"Oh, I heard you open and close it and then put the trap on it," said Ron. "I couldn't fall asleep, you know, with immortality just two beds away."

"But who took it?" demanded Harry.

"We don't know," sighed Hermione. "Ron didn't see the culprit."

"Who could it have been?" wondered Harry, thinking hard…. Then it hit him! Who else had been awake when he had put the Stone away? Neville! His breathing that night was not like a sleeping person's… much louder than usual. Why didn't he notice it before?

"Neville took it!" gasped Harry.

"Neville?"

"Yes," said Harry, jumping out of his bed, feeling perfectly fine all over. "And who knows what he could be doing with it."

"Probably giving it to Voldemort," said Hermione and Ron together, still invisible.

"My thought exactly," said Harry, pulling his bandages off. Underneath them, the skin was perfectly healed. "And we have to stop him as soon as possible."

"Right," they said, finally becoming visible again. Hermione lowered the hood of the cloak and Ron changed back into his human form.

"Let's go check if we can find someone who's seen him recently," said Ron.

The three of them snuck out of the Hospital Wing, trying to leave before Madam Pomfrey's returned. Once they escaped that room, the three of them burst into a full sprint all the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and then to Ron and Harry's dormitory.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione?" exclaimed Seamus and Dean together who were sitting on the floor, playing Wizard Duel. "You can't come in here Hermione!"

"Are you okay?" asked Dean. "You look like you're out of breath!"

"Have you seen Neville?" gasped Harry, ignoring their questions.

"Yeah, he just left a little while ago," said Seamus, still looking at Hermione, and wondering what was going on, and appearing to be a little confused. "He looked like he was in a big hurry."

"So it was him," said Ron.

"What did he do?" asked Dean. "Is Neville in trouble?"

"Did he say where he was going?" asked Ron, still ignoring their questions.

"No," said Seamus, shaking his head.

"Then we'd better hurry up and start looking for him," said Harry. The three of them turned around and ran out of the room.

"Wait! What's wrong with Neville?" they heard Dean yell from behind.

"What do we do now?" asked Hermione.

"We need to find out where Neville is," said Ron.

"Well duh. But how do we do that?" asked Hermione again.

"We need to find an Ingredient to the Immortal Potion," said Harry. "I can touch it with the Ring and then the map will come up. We can just look for the green dot, and that's where Neville is."

"But how can we do that?" asked Ron as they left the Common Room. "Remember? The Sorcerer's Stone is gone."

"We need another ingredient," said Harry. "And I know where to find it. It's in Dumbledore's office! He has the Legendary Watch there." They ran faster than they ever did in their entire lives to Dumbledore's Office, the entire world unknowingly counting on them to get the Ingredient back as soon as possible. It didn't take them very long to arrive, the three of them had been there more times than most professors.

"Monkey cakes," gasped Harry, out of breath when they reached the gargoyle. It moved aside, and they tiptoed up the stairs, trying to catch their breath as they went. When they arrived up in the office, Harry walked over to the desk, to the same drawer he had gone to before. He opened it up… and there was nothing inside!

"Where is it?" asked Ron, looking over.

"That's what I'd like to know," said Harry, feeling a little worried. He opened the drawer above it… nothing there. He opened the one on the other side, and the one below that, but there was no Watch in sight.

"Check over there," said Harry forcefully, pointing to a shelf of books. "It has to be around here somewhere and we're going to find it!"

Within ten minutes, Dumbledore's office was torn apart. Papers, books, pens, ink bottles and more was all over the floor, but there was still no Watch in sight. Every shelf, drawer and surface was cleared and searched thoroughly, but nothing was found. Harry felt a little guilty for tearing the place apart like this, but it was for the good of the universe. After only a few more minutes of tireless searching, the three of them magically fixed the room, with the only witnesses to their crimes being Fawkes and the pictures of the previous headmasters on the wall who were mostly all asleep.

"I can't believe we didn't find it," said Harry to himself. "Voldemort is probably making Elixirs of Life already! I can't believe we didn't find it!" Harry banged his fist down hard on the desk, nearly breaking it in half.

"Harry!" called Hermione, putting her hand over his. "Calm down. It'll be-"

Suddenly, both of them were distracted by the same thing. Harry's Ring shone a bright yellow, as did Hermione's bracelet. Harry's finger burned for a second and the map appeared before them again, just as it did when he touched the Sorcerer's Stone.

"Hermione…" said Harry slowly. "Your bracelet is… an Ingredient!"

"Ron?" she gasped. "Did you know that?" Ron's eyes were wide and glued to the magnificent Bracelet.

"No," he said, not looking away. As much as Harry would have liked to continue this little interrogation, there were much more pressing matters currently at hand. He looked over at the map… the green dot was in England, that much was for sure. But where was it exactly?

"There has to be a way to zoom in," said Harry, looking for some sort of button on his Ring. He shrugged and touched the right, red eye on the skull. To his surprise, the map zoomed in on the green dot, making it fill the entire screen, and the zoomed-in map

was revealed. According to the chart, the green dot was in a massive forest, and it was moving all around.

"Harry!" yelled Ron. "That's the Forbidden Forest!"

"How do you know?" asked Hermione.

"Because Hogwarts is right there!" he said, pointing to the lower right corner of the map. Indeed, there was a big castle there, complete with a Quidditch field, lake, and railroad tracks coming out of it. What other place could it be?

"Okay, so he's in the Forbidden Forest," said Harry, realizing that he was still holding onto Hermione's hand. He quickly let go, and the map disappeared. "Let's go find him!" Not knowing how much time they had left, they quickly left the office, doing a quick last minute check that everything was in its place.

"Well at least he's still on the grounds, and not with Voldemort yet," said Harry.

"Yeah…" said Hermione, sounding as if something was on her mind. "Ron? If you knew the Bracelet was a Legendary Ingredient, would you still have given it to me?"

"Err- um… sure," he said. "Of course I would have… maybe."

They reached the front doors of Hogwarts and opened them up, revealing the massive Hogwarts grounds. They ran towards the forest and got ready to go in… as they did almost every year.

"I think we should start a petition to change the name 'Forbidden' Forest, to just Regular 'Forest'," said Hermione, catching her breath before they went in. "We go in it every year… but why? Why do all the bad guys have to go in there?"

"Dunno… the rhinoceros told them to?" suggested Ron.

"Yeah, that must be it," said Harry. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," sighed Ron and Hermione together, stepping inside with Harry. It was like a completely different world inside the Forbidden Forest. Unlike the nice, clear, and quiet Hogwart's grounds, the forest was filled with bushes, trees and other plants that seemed as though they would eat you if you stepped on them. Animals, and probably other things Harry didn't want to think about, were constantly making noise, some okay and nice, others not nearly as much.

"How are we going to find Neville if we keep walking in random directions like this?" asked Hermione, pushing a large tentacle-like plant that was hanging off a tree out of her way.

"Enh, we usually find whatever we're looking for this way," said Ron, pushing the same thing out of his way.

"Well, we may need a bit more than luck to help us this time," said Harry. "We have to find Neville fast, and chance may not be quick enough. Hermione! Give me your bracelet." She took it off her arm, and handed it to Harry, lighting up the forest with its intense light upon touching the Ring. Harry slipped it on his arm, and his Ring lit up. It hurt a little, indicating that they were close to another Ingredient, but not too close. "I'll just follow the pain in my finger. The more there is, the closer we are."

Harry stuck his hand out in front of him, as if his finger were the guide. He followed the burning sensation in his Ring as if her were someone following the beeps on a metal detector.

"I think we're getting close," said Harry, the pain growing so much that his finger was beginning to shake involuntarily. "We're getting real close now! Only a few- whoa!" Suddenly, Harry felt as though he had just entered Weasley's Wizard Wheezes

again. He did a somersault in the air and his feet floated up in the sky, as if held by a large and invisible person.

"Ron! Hermione! Help!" yelled Harry, stuck upside down in midair.

"You know Harry," said Ron. "We would, if were weren't having the same problem as you!" Harry turned his head around ( the rest of his body felt frozen all over) and saw that it was true. The two of them were stuck just like he was, upside down and a few feet above the ground.

"Hey," said Ron, sounding cheerful. "We're in the Forbidden Forest, upside down and frozen, hungry and cold, and surrounded by millions of demons of every size and shape that probably wouldn't think twice about ripping the skin off of our bones, and then slurping it up like spaghetti. Well, look on the bright side. At least it couldn't get any worse."

"Wrong!" yelled Neville, suddenly jumping out of a nearby bush, taking them all by surprise. The Sorcerer's Stone was nowhere in sight.

"NEVILLE!" yelled Harry, Ron and Hermione together. "Give back the Stone!" Neville laughed hard, throwing his head back.

"I don't really think you're in any position to tell me what to do," he said, pushing Harry on the nose with a single finger. He swung back and forth in midair as if his feet were on hinges to the sky.

"What are you doing here anyway, Neville," demanded Harry, finally coming to a stop. "How did you get the Stone? Shouldn't you be with Voldemort right now, giving it to him.?"

Neville stifled a laugh.

"Harry," he said, "you are the worst trap-maker in the world. I was awake that night, and heard you say the password. All I had to do was wait for the right moment…. As for being with my master now, there are things more powerful than the Sorcerer's Stone. That is what my master desires."

"He didn't tell you what it was he wanted?" asked Harry, wanting to kick himself for being so stupid and not realizing Neville was still awake that night he set the trap. He was happy, though, that they at least knew something Neville didn't… the Immortal Potion. He may have known that Voldemort wanted something more powerful than the Stone, but he didn't know what it was.

"That is unnecessary information," he said. "All he told me to do was to set a trap here for you three. He said that you would somehow follow me here by using a ring that could sense the Stone."

"He knows about the Ring!" whispered Ron angrily to Harry. How could he have known that? Harry didn't even know what it was until just a few days ago! Why was Voldemort always a step ahead of them?

"So what's going to happen now?" asked Harry, trying to stall for some time. "Is he going to come here and take us away to his palace of darkness or what?"

"I don't know," said Neville, checking his watch. "My master did not give me further instructions beyond what I have already done. He just told me to wait."

"How can you respect a master like that?" asked Harry, still trying to figure a way out of the trap. But his whole body, except for his face, was entirely numb and then frozen solid. There was no way out. "I mean, he doesn't even tell you what he's planning on doing. How can you possibly be with him?"

Neville walked up to Harry's face, looking more serious than he had ever seen him.

"Harry," he hissed softly. "Voldemort has done more for me than your Dumbledore has ever or will ever do. Dumbledore could have performed the same spells Voldemort did on me to make me how I am now, but he didn't. He let me fail, knowing that he could have helped."

"The spells that Voldemort used on you were probably Dark Magic," said Harry. "Even if it would save someone's life, Dumbledore would never condone the use of it. So your little reason of being a bit more superior is not good enough, Neville. Just because Voldemort gave you a bigger brain, head of hair and arms doesn't mean you should switch your allegiance as if it were a bathroom light."

Neville walked so close to Harry that their noses were practically touching.

"Eventually," he spoke softly, "Voldemort will win. He will rule the world that he has will ablaze as an eternal king, and no one will be able to stop him, especially you, Mr. Potter. All that matters now is whether or not, when that time comes, are you going to be on his good side?"

"Wouldn't it be better to die than to live a good life in a Hell?" asked Harry. "Because that's just what the world would be if Voldemort ruled it."

"For some… I suppose," said Neville, backing up. "I, however, am not among that group… fortunately."

There was a moment of an awkward silence.

"So what's this spell you have us under here Neville?" asked Harry, still looking desperately in vain for a way out. "I've never seen a more secure spell than this."

"This is one of my master's new inventions," he said, kicking some dirt into the air. "Beautiful… isn't it?"

"What exactly does it do?"

"Well," said Neville, checking his watch again, "I suppose we have a little while. This is the Flipped and Frozen Trap Spell. You set it to grab a specific person when they come close to its proximity. Then, when the person walks close, it sucks them in, flips them upside down, and turns the muscles and bones in the body below their head into jelly, for lack of a better word. But, the best part about the spell is that the person who set the traps can control the people who stepped into them."

Neville smiled and took out his wand. He pointed it at Harry and Harry followed the wand perfectly. Neville put his wand up, Harry went up and hit the trees. He threw it down, and Harry's head banged on the ground. It was ten times as painful, not being able to cover where he was hit with his hands. Harry yelled out. Neville happily continued moving him through the air as if he were some sort of toy.

But, just like any other child with his toys, Neville quickly got bored with moving Harry all over the place, and fixed him back where he was. Even though Harry's head was spinning, his little talk with Neville had given him an idea.

"So Neville," gasped Harry, still feeling a little queasy. "These traps can only be set for a single person. What does it do? Detect their DNA or something?"

"Yeah, that's it," said Neville, sounding a little annoyed that he had to wait so long.

"But what if the person in the trap were to change his DNA?" asked Harry, smiling. Ron and Hermione nodded too, they had caught on.

"I suppose the trap would let them go, but that's imp- oh no…"

Neville realized what Harry, Ron and Hermione were going to do a second too late. Harry transformed into a Gryffin instantly and jumped out right onto Neville, knocking him to the ground. When he heard Ron and Hermione fall to the ground in their animal forms, Harry decided to show Neville never to try and get them again. He extended his claws out of his paw so they were almost three inches long. He brought it up, right above Neville's head, saw the look of fear and panic in his eyes, and then brought the claw down, right on his face, leaving three massive, bloody gashes.

But, that one slash wasn't enough to take down Neville. He let out a scream, and Harry ripped across his face again with his other paw, making another bloody mark. That last blow subdued Neville and he collapsed to the ground, almost unconscious. At least it hurt enough not to scream. Harry turned back into a human, still looming over Neville.

"Where is the Stone!" yelled Harry, shaking Neville's shoulders.

"I'll never tell," said Neville, drooling blood all over the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head. Harry pushed him to the ground, finally knocking him out. He stood up, brushed himself off, and looked at Ron and Hermione. They transformed back too, and walked over around Neville as well.

"Look at him," said Hermione, shaking her head.

"Pathetic," spat Ron.

"All it took was little surprise, and he was taken down," said Hermione. "All of Voldemort's followers must share his faults."

"But how are we going to find the Stone now?" asked Ron, waving his arm at the bloody Neville. "The only person who knew where it was is currently… unavailable."

"Well, we can just use my-" said Harry, before the most surprising thing he could have ever imagined happened. Right before them, Neville Longbottom burst into flames.


	11. the dueling club incident

Chapter 11- The Dueling Club Incident

It happened so quickly, Harry could barely see what was going on. He thought the flames started at his head and worked their way down to his feet, but it was so fast, it was impossible to tell. All that Harry knew for sure is that where Neville was a second ago, there was now only a pile of ash.

"Where did he go?" yelled Ron.

"Did he… die?" asked Hermione.

"Well, that would be the best thing to happen all day," mumbled Ron.

"Oh come on Ron!" said Hermione angrily. "Even if he was evil, he didn't deserve to die. There was still hope for him."

"Don't worry Hermione," said Harry. "I don't think he's dead."

"What makes you think that?" demanded Ron.

"Remember last year, when we spent the night in Hagrid's cabin after capturing Wormtail?" questioned Harry.

"Yeah," said Ron, "and then in the morning, he was gone."

"And all we could find of him was a pile of ash," said Harry. "I think the same thing that just happened to Neville is what happened to Wormtail."

"But what did just happen?" asked Ron.

"That's the question of the day," said Harry. "Any ideas Hermione?"

"Well," she said thoughtfully, "I'm not sure exactly what this spell was, but I've seen ones like it before. I remember reading about one where someone was frozen in an ice cube suddenly, and then it broke into a million pieces. Everyone thought he was dead, but it turned out that was just the way for his master to summon his minions. Maybe this fire version is just Voldemort's way of doing it."

"That's the best theory so far," said Harry. "But we have to find the Stone before we can do anything else."

"How are we going to find it, though?" asked Ron.

"Hermione, give me your Bracelet again," said Harry. She threw it over to him, and Harry caught it in his hand.

"Nice catch," she grinned. Harry slipped the Bracelet on. It, along with the Ring immediately glowed a bright yellow, and just a few feet in front of them, a small, green light appeared on the ground. It was very dim, compared to the Ring and Bracelet's glow, but there nonetheless.

The three of them walked over to the shining spot and immediately began digging with their hands, clawing at the dirt. Each time they dug further down to it, the glow became more bright and vibrant. It wasn't too long before the Stone was revealed, brighter than the sun. Harry slipped it into his pocket and decided it was time to go. After

Ron stepped into his trap again and Harry and Hermione had a good laugh, they headed back to the castle.

"Alright," said Harry, when they finally left the forest. "This time, I'm going to put an even more powerful trap on a different drawer and I'll make sure that-"

"Harry!" interjected Hermione. "I think we need to make the Stone more secure than that. Neville easily took it last time and I don't think we can risk another situation like that ever happening again."

"You're right," admitted Harry. "But where else can we put it?"

"It's not about putting it somewhere more secure, it's about giving it to someone who will make it more secure."

"But Dumbledore's not here, remember?" said Ron.

"Oh for god's sake Ron!" yelled Hermione. "How stupid can you be? Do you think Dumbledore is the only one who is qualified to protect a Stone? Remember in our first year, all the teachers made something to guard it? So all of them are able to watch it."

"Fine, but who do we give it to?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, I don't want to give it to Snape," said Ron.

"Well, we could give it to Professor McGonagall," suggested Hermione. "She is practically second in command at the school anyway."

"That sounds like a good idea," yawned Harry. "Let's give the Stone to her and go to bed. Having the weight of the world on your shoulders is very tiring."

The three of them walked back to the castle, still talking about what had just happened. Not before long, they reached Professor McGonagall's office, ready to tell her the news and give her the Stone.

"Professor?" asked Harry quietly when they walked into her office.

"Yes Mr. Potter?" she asked, furiously working on grading a paper. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed by now?"

"Well yes, but I, that is… we, have something for you."

She looked up from her work and raised an eyebrow.

"You have something for me?" she asked.

"Well… kind of," said Harry, moving his head from side to side. He didn't want her to think this was a present or anything.

"Kind of?" she asked, looking even more curious. "What is it?"

Harry decided to just be out with it and give it to her. He reached into his pocket, with his non-ring hand, grabbed the Stone, and presented it to her. As soon as her eyes met it, they grew twice their size and her jaw fell to her desk.

"That's a… a…." she gasped.

"It's a Sorcerer's Stone," said Harry, setting it down on the top of her desk. She didn't take her eyes off of it.

"Where did you… get this?" she asked quietly.

"It was in the package you gave me from Dudley," said Harry. "He got it from Perenelle Flamel. He didn't know what it was, so he sent it to me."

"Perenelle Flamel?" she said. "How did you get it from her."

"We were the only ones that showed up for her funeral. In her will, it said to give the Stone to whoever bothered to come. I guess we were the only ones that did."

There was a moment of silence.

"Why are you giving it to me?" asked Professor McGonagall, back in her normal tone of voice

"To protect it better than I did," sighed Harry. "It's already been stolen once, and I don't want it to be stolen again."

"Who took it?"

"Neville," spat Harry.

Professor McGonagall sighed.

"That poor boy," she said, shaking her head. Then, returning her gaze to Harry, "you did the right thing bringing it to me. I will protect it, you need not worry."

"Thank you professor," bowed Harry.

"No trouble," she said, turning her attention back to the Stone. "No trouble at all."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the room, feeling much better.

"Good," said Ron. "Now we don't have to worry about it anymore."

"And we won't be tempted to use it either," said Harry.

"Harry!" came a voice suddenly from ahead. "Where have you been?"

"Oh, hello Cho," said Harry, trying to sound happy, despite what happened.

"Where have you been all day?" she demanded, crossing her arms. "I've been in the Hospital Wing most of the day waiting for you! I didn't know where else to go!"

"I'm sorry Cho," apologized Harry, signaling to Ron and Hermione that they could leave. "I just had some… urgent business."

She crossed her arms.

"Well, I suppose I can forgive you," she smiled. "But from now on, tell me before you come out of unconsciousness."

"I will certainly try," grinned Harry back.

"Well, I want to see you more often than what we've been doing now," she

continued. "After all, this is our last year together." This comment hit Harry hard. He hadn't

realized it up until now, but since Cho was a year ahead of him, she would graduate next year and poor little Harry would be left all alone.

"How about after the dueling club meeting tomorrow?" suggested Harry.

"No," said Cho. "I have a meeting after that."

"Okay then, how about after… um, the Wizard Duel meeting?"

"Oh, you're into all that?" she asked, scrunching her face.

"Enh, it's okay," said Harry, trying to downplay his obsession and try to have he same opinion as her.

"But… sure, that'll work," she replied. "I'll see you then!"

"See you!" yelled Harry, walking away from her. Had she really been looking for him all day? Harry hoped Cho wasn't becoming a stalker… though that wouldn't be so bad, she was only stalking him after all.

Harry returned to the Gryffindor Common Room, in which there were still a few people awake, mostly the Dueling Club members. Everyone was excited about the upcoming meeting since it would be their first duel this year. The rest of the people, Harry saw, were there practicing for the approaching Wizard Duel club engagement. It was certainly going to be a good week.

After working his way through the mass of people, Harry arrived at his dormitory. Seamus and Dean were downstairs, along with Ak. Ron, however, was busy looking under beds and in closets.

"What are you doing?" asked Harry.

"Looking for Neville," he said, closing the last closet.

"Any sign of him?" asked Harry sarcastically, putting his night clothes on.

"Not a thing," said Ron, shaking his head, taking Harry seriously.

"Good night Ron," said Harry, jumping into his bed. "You keep an eye out for Neville, alright?" Harry closed his eyes, not hearing Ron's answer, and thinking about where Neville was right now and what Voldemort was doing to him.

"So what are we going to do at this meeting?" asked Malfoy to Harry before the Dueling Club meeting the next day. The entire club was waiting outside of the Great Hall, anticipating the fight. To make up for many of the members that left, there were even more newcomers. All of Harry's Quidditch team had joined, along with Ak's friends and several of the new first years came as well, trying to learn spells that would help them in class.

"I actually don't know," said Harry, feeling a little guilty. He should have consulted with Professor Flitwick, the head of the club, about what to do for their first meeting. He was captain of the club after all. But, with everything that had been going on, Harry totally forgot about it, and was now just hoping Professor Flitwick had a good idea. "Probably it will be just like what our previous meetings have been like."

Just then, the doors opened by themselves and everyone filed excitedly into the room. The first thing Harry noticed was the fact that, for the first time ever, the entire room was completely empty. There were no tables, no chairs, no nothing. Just a massive, empty room.

"Come in! Come in!" called Professor Flitwick. He was hovering around the room, about ten feet off the ground, sitting cross-legged. Of course, the most obvious and noticeable thing about him was his enormous smile that seemed to give off its own rainbow of color and trail behind him as he went about. He floated around everyone as they walked in, shut the doors when they all were inside, and then began speaking again.

"This meeting shall be a little different than our past ones," he announced with his magnified voice. "Up to now, we have been working on only one on one to three on three fights. While the knowledge of how to fair well during these situations if necessary, it is not all that you need to know. What would you do if you were engaged in a war or another type of large battle? You would not seek out and destroy every person individually… no. You need to learn how to take advantage of your surroundings, how to attack on the larger scale, and how to make use of guerrilla tactics."

He took his wand out, and held it into the air, looking like he was getting ready to bring it down and cast a large spell.

"I need all of you to spread out as much as you can, at least ten feet between each of you. Trust me, you will need it." He waited for a minute while everyone moved around, spinning their arms to make sure they were far away enough from each other. When Professor Flitwick was happy with everyone's locations, he continued talking.

"When I bring my wand down, your battle location will form. I will wait a minute for it to completely develop and then I will countdown for you to begin. The last person

standing is the winner, and don't worry: I will announce when there is only one left. It may be hard to tell…." Harry saw that everyone was looking nervous, but he was thinking this was going to be one of the best meeting ever.

Professor Flitwick brought his wand down in one magnificent motion. Hundreds of green swirls erupted from the tip and flew all over the room, growing as they went. Then, when each swirl hit a surface, a gigantic tree grew right out. So many of these trees were discharged from the walls and floor, Harry wasn't sure whether he was still in the Great Hall, or a rainforest. The trees were huge, at least five feet thick, and they went all the way up to the ceiling. Bushes grew all around them, some with thorns, others just leaves and Harry could've sworn he heard a bird call somewhere…. They were going to fight here?

"On your marks!" boomed Professor Flitwick's voice, even though Harry couldn't see him anymore. "Get set! Go!"

Harry waited for something to happen… but heard nothing. There were no sounds of spells being used or people yelling; just a few crunches of leaves every now and then, showing that there were people moving, but not easily seen. Harry crept forward, not knowing if he was going to bump into someone, bump into a tree, or continue going straight. He was just beginning to notice that it was incredibly dark in here.

Suddenly, right in front of him, Harry heard a human voice. He ran over towards the side of a bush and ducked behind a tree. He put his head out to the side, to see if he could see what was going on. Though it was still very dark, he could make out two figures, fighting.

"Take this!" yelled one of them. Harry thought it sounded like Mike. "Kitte Imasu!"

Harry heard something sharp and fast fly through the air quickly and hit its target. It sounded like a bow shooting an extremely aerodynamic and sharp arrow.

"Arg!" yelled Mike's victim. It sounded like one of the new Gryffindor first years: Chad. Harry heard him fall to the ground.

"Never underestimate the power of Japanese… and their spells," snickered Mike, spinning his wand around and blowing off the tip, just like an outlaw would do with his gun. This was Harry's chance. One of them was gone, and Mike was distracted. He grabbed his wand, spun around, and met him face to face.

"Stupefy!" yelled Harry, just as Mike saw him. He tried to move out of the way, but it was too late. The spell hit him right in the chest and he fell down, right next to Chad. Just to mock him blindly a little bit, Harry spun his wand around and blew on the end, before putting it back in his pocket.

"Two down, twenty more to go," he said to himself.

Harry crept forward, keeping a look out for anyone he knew to be wary of. As he went along, he found several people on the ground, knocked out just like Mike and Chad had been. Harry was thankful that Ak, Tci, and Aylar were among those on the ground. They were the best duelers there besides himself. But then, he thought to himself, who beat them? Harry tried to suppress that thought and continued on, stepping over Akshay's face that had a pair of broken glasses on it.

"Help!" came a voice from up ahead. Harry knew who it was: Hermione. Immediately, he forgot all about the duel, and ran forwards, not stopping to hide behind any trees. If Hermione was calling for help, it had to be serious.

"Help!" she called again. This time, Harry could see the situation. Chris was on her back, with his arms around her neck, trying to bring her down while Joe was busy attempting to remove her Bracelet from her arm.

Harry didn't take any time to think about what was going on.

"Apoyiosi!" he yelled, aiming right at Joe. There was an explosion right below his feet and he was thrown up into the trees. Now, it was Chris' turn. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry brought Chris up high, right to the tops of the trees and then brought him down, much faster, so he slammed right into the ground, face first and unconscious.

"Are you alright?" asked Harry, running over to Hermione.

"Yeah," she gasped.

"What was that all about?"

"I don't know," she said, catching her breath. "First, Joe jumped out of nowhere and grabbed my Bracelet. I shook him off, but when Chris came down right on my back, it got to be too much."

"What did they want with your bracelet?" asked Harry. "You don't think they're… Death Eaters?"

"Ekthkweeze meh!" yelled Joe from the branch of a tree. His robe had gotten caught in a branch on his way up, and now he was hanging from it. "Can you help meh down please?"

"What did you want with the Bracelet?" demanded Harry.

"What bracelet?" asked Joe, waving his arms frantically.

"Don't play stupid with me!" yelled Hermione. "You just attacked me!"

"What? No meh didn't!" yelled Joe. "All meh know is first meh was fighting Chris, and then meh was up here in this tree."

"You mean you don't know what the Bracelet is?" asked Harry.

"I don't even know what bracelet you're talking about!" yelled Joe, spinning around and waving even more. There was a snapping sound heard in the branch he was hooked on and it suddenly fell all the way down to the ground with a loud crash.

"Were you under some sort of spell or something?" asked Harry, helping him up.

"Meh guess so," said Joe, brushing himself off. "But, now that you mention it, meh do remember a little. Blurs mostly… meh remember not feeling mehself. Yeah, meh was attacking Hermione! But, meh don't remember wanting to do it, it was like there was someone else, telling meh what to do."

"So, like someone was controlling you?" asked Harry again.

"Yeah, meh guess so," said Joe, shrugging his shoulders.

"Someone must have put the Imperius Curse on him," whispered Hermione.

"That means someone here wants to Bracelet," responded Harry. "But who here even knows what it is, much less want it?"

Just then, there was a sudden flash of red light, and Joe collapsed to the ground. Harry ran over to the nearest tree and hid behind it. He saw Hermione do the same. Someone was attacking them.

"Come out come out wherever you are," came an all to familiar voice. Neville slowly crept out from the dark trees and Harry thought he saw some snakes slither by as he came out. He was twirling his wand in his hand, as if he had just accomplished something great. "I know you're here Harry, so come out and face me." He was walking

closer and closer to Harry. But, he was going to wait for just the right moment to appear and-

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Hermione, jumping out from behind her tree. She quickly pointed her wand at Neville, just as he was turning around. "Stupefy!"

"Fucillius!" yelled Neville, at just the same instant. The two spells met in midair, but Neville's immediately overpowered Hermione's, causing her to fall over backwards from the impact of an imaginary speeding bullet.

"Take this!" yelled Harry, taking full advantage of the fact that Neville was distracted from watching her fall. "Itamuda!" A spinning, black beam ejected itself from Harry's wand. It went right for Neville, and hit him… then passed right through him.

"What?" yelled Harry, seeing Neville turn to face him. Was he a ghost? What was going on? Just then, Neville began flickering and going all staticy, as if he were a projection, and then all out disappeared.

"Accio wand!" came a voice from behind Harry. He turned around just in time to see Neville summoning his wand right out of Harry's hand. He quickly shoved the wand into his pocket, and grinned at Harry.

"Now whatcha going to do?" he asked, sticking his tongue our between clenched teeth. Harry was worried… he was powerless. He had to transform and hope that would take Neville by surprise again… but would that work? Would Neville fall for the same trick twice?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Malfoy fell from the trees and pounced right on top of Neville, wiping the grin right off of his face. He subdued him on the ground, holding his arms down with his hands, and putting his knees on Neville's legs.

"Thanks a million Malfoy," gasped Harry, relieved.

"No problem," said Malfoy, sounding like he was straining to keep Neville pinned down. "What are friends for? But, could you hurry up and take this guy out? He's stronger than he looks… and he looks pretty strong."

Harry ran over to Neville's pocket, and took out his wand. He pointed it at Neville's face, and looked at the terror in his eyes. What spell should he use on him?

"Bona nox!" yelled Harry so loud that some birds flew away in the trees above him. Black, lightning-like beams shot out of the tip of his wand, electrifying Neville's forehead, making it shake all over and pulsate, but only for a second. Then, the effect of the spell finally came.

"I'm blind!" yelled Neville. "Blind!"

Malfoy grabbed the wand out of Neville's flailing hand and got up off of him, wiping some sweat from his head.

"How long were you up there waiting?" Harry asked Malfoy.

"I've been there since the beginning of the match," he said, watching Neville run around aimlessly and crash into some trees. "I've been sniping out people all over, taking them out quite easily. It was just by luck that you happened to need me right here."

"Well thanks," said Harry, looking over at Neville, and not seeing any of the boy he was as a first year anywhere on or in him. Harry ran over to him, and grabbed his neck, pinning him up against a tree.

"Was it you who tried to take Hermione's bracelet?" demanded Harry.

"Wha- no!" gasped Neville, gripping his neck, and looking all over in vain for a way out. He was at Harry's mercy.

"Of course it was you!" yelled Harry, tightening his grip. "Who else here is slimy enough to try and pull a trick like that?"

"I don't know who is was," choked Neville. "But it wasn't me!"

"What's going on here?" asked Malfoy, walking over.

"He tried to steal Hermione's Bracelet," said Harry through gritted teeth. "Or, at least control someone else so they would do it."

"What would he want it for?" asked Malfoy. "I mean, sure, it looks nice, but is it worth stealing?" Harry looked at him… he didn't know that the Bracelet was actually one of the Ingredients in the Immortality Potion. Should he tell him?

"I don't know," Harry finally lied. "And were not going to find out now! STUPEFY!" Harry aimed the beam right at Neville's chest, and saw it instantly knock him out. He let go of his neck and let his unconscious body drop to the grass-covered floor.

"When did Neville get here anyway?" Harry asked Malfoy. "I didn't see him come in at the beginning of the match."

"I did," said Malfoy. "From my spot in the trees. He came in a little after it began. It gave him a bit of an advantage, really, since he came in after everyone else had been fighting for a while. I saw him take out everyone in his path… Tci, Ak, and Aylar especially…. He certainly has become a better fighter, that's for sure."

"Yes, well, do the ends justify the means?" asked Harry. "Sure, Neville's a better warrior, but at the cost of him being a Death Eater." Harry thought this would be a good time to see just how much Malfoy knew. "Speaking of which, I haven't heard about much Dark Activity going on lately… any idea what that's about?"

"Yeah," sighed Malfoy. "You-Know-Who hasn't said too much about it, but he's planning something big… I mean, really big."

Harry swallowed hard. Should he have headed Dobby more?

"Well," sighed Malfoy, breaking the awkward silence between the two of them. "Yet again, it has come down to us."

"Too bad we had to go and become friends," said Harry, backing away a little.

"Yeah, too bad that I'm going to have to beat you," grinned Malfoy.

"Oh yeah, what makes you so sure of that?"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"My new Polymagus form," he snickered. "Prepare to be obliterated."

Harry backed up against a tree and took out his wand, ready to deal with whatever it was Malfoy was going to become. Malfoy closed his eyes and threw his arms and legs out as far as they could go, spreading his fingers apart from each other and Harry assumed he was doing the same to his toes as well. Then, when he was as stretched out as far as Harry thought he could be without splitting apart, Malfoy just… fell over, right onto his back.

"Are you okay?" laughed Harry.

"This is just the beginning," said Malfoy in Harry's head through Animagus telepathy. He began moving his fingers and feet in the most particular manner, so that his entire body was spinning around on the ground. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, until his animal powers began to kick in and he was almost a blur. Malfoy was spinning so fast, he was starting to dig himself into the ground, like some sort of human drill. Then, when he was about five feet under, the animal form appeared.

It looked like a massive worm more than anything. It was thick enough to fill the entire hole, but very short, only coming about four feet out of the hole. It was a dark yellow all over, and looked extremely slimy. It had only a single eye, with a small spike protruding underneath it. Suddenly, many much smaller versions of the beast popped up all around it, forming some sort of grotesque outline of the monster. All of the creatures then started spinning, very slowly, but fast enough to make the ground shake.

Cracks began to appear in the ground around the creature, which spread out further and further. Then, the smaller versions of the monster began moving around the large one, as if they were trying to create some sort of whirlpool, which was not too far from the truth. The beasts were moving so fast that the monster had turned into some sort of living black hole, sucking in the land around it. Entire trees, bushes, the floor and mounds of dirt were sucked into the moving pool of monsters and then devoured by them, just as quickly, by a series of horrible pokings from the protruding needles beneath their eyes.

"What kind of animal is that?" yelled Harry, holding onto a tree that was beginning to be sucked into the monster.

"It's a Surmanger!" yelled Malfoy back, telepathically. "It's a rare desert beast that creates black hole-like ground all around it, sucking in everything. The smaller ones eat the things it sucks in, and the larger on softens the ground, so it is easier to bring in and devour. It's like some sort of horribly well oiled machine!"

"You've got that right!" said Harry, jumping off of the tree that he was previously hanging onto. It was sucked right into the belly of the monster, and eaten almost instantly. It was amazing, to see the smaller creatures peck at their victims so fast that it looked as though it was being disintegrated rather than eaten.

The Surmanger had now eaten most of the magical forest, and Harry could see some of the Great Hall's tiled floor appearing beneath the grass that was being sucked up, though not for very long since it was brought in just as quickly. Professor Flitwick had now revealed himself. He was flying around the room, moving unconscious kids high into the air so that they wouldn't be sucked in and eaten. Harry decided to follow that line of thinking, and transformed his back into wings. He took to the air, away from the ground that was being quickly devoured.

"Stupefy!" yelled Harry, aiming right for the monster. The red beam shot right at it, but then, right before it was about to hit, the beast ate the ray of light as if it were a bush. "That thing can eat light!" "Matter, energy, it all tastes the same," telepathized Malfoy the monster. Now, all of the forest had been consumed, and he was working on the actual Great Hall, sucking in the floor, ceiling and walls. Harry had to really struggle to stay in the air and not be eaten. He had to distract Malfoy somehow, to try and buy some time to think of something.

"Hey Malfoy!" yelled Harry in his mind. "How come you're only one animal now? I thought you Polymagi could combine your animal's DNA to create a super powerful monster."

"We can," said Malfoy back, not appearing to have slowed down in his rate of consummation. "But this creature is powerful enough on its own; it doesn't need any other parts to make it better. Just by itself, it is invincible."

Suddenly, one wall broke out of its connection with the others and flew over towards to monster, revealing the outside world, and some of the Hogwarts grounds. Flitwick had to do some quick moving to have the floating students dodge the flying wall. A second later, that entire wall was eaten, and the next three were on their way out. Harry didn't see how he was going to win this one.

Harry did a few air tricks, just to try and put off the inevitable a little bit longer. All the walls of the room were gone, along with the floor. Malfoy was now working on eating the magically free-floating ceiling, which would be gone within seconds. Once that was finally devoured, Harry found himself outside on the grounds. Malfoy had eaten the entire Great Hall, and he showed no sign of slowing.

"Alright Harry," snickered Malfoy. "I think I've done enough damage. It's time to end this duel!" Abruptly, the moving smaller versions of the monster stopped in their tracks. Each of them appeared to be standing upright, like a soldier, with their spikes in the air. Then, they started furiously shaking the tips of their heads from side to side, and their spikes… fell off!

"What are you doing?" asked Harry.

"Underneath those spikes are powerful vacuum-like holes," explained Malfoy. "It's time to suck you up Harry!" Indeed, where the spikes used to be, there was now a small black hole on each of the smaller monsters. They all began moving in their circular pattern again, only this time, it was not the earth being sucked in, it was the air.

Harry instantly felt the new force pulling on him, and it was incredible. It was as if he were being lassoed from all directions, and each one was being pulled by a sumo wrestler. He could feel the air being sucked in all around him, along with a few clouds above him. It was becoming hard to breathe. It didn't take Harry very long to succumb to the beast.

Harry couldn't take it anymore. Even in just the few seconds he had been struggling against Malfoy's new version of his monster, he felt as though he had run several marathons. He just… couldn't fly any more, and he stopped flapping his wings. Instantly, he began being sucked into the beast, faster and faster, until he was just about to be devoured….

"Draco Malfoy is the winner!" announced Professor Flitwick, quickly moving Harry out of danger. He used his wand to move him high up in the sky, along with the rest of the kids, out of the monster's reach. "Please, Mr. Malfoy, you may transform back now!"

"Yes professor," Harry heard Malfoy say. The Surmanger began spinning all over, so fast that it was starting to shrink. Once it was about the size of a person, it slowed down and Malfoy was revealed, back in his normal form, his arms and legs spread out on the ground.

"Superb transformation," commented professor Flitwick. "But, next time, would you please not destroy the entire room?"

"I shall certainly try professor," smiled Malfoy, though he looked as though he were in pain. His hands we on his stomach, and he was looking a little pale. Harry wondered if all or even some of what he ate was retained in his human stomach.

"Good job Malfoy," said Harry, offering him his hand just as a cool end-of-summer breeze blew by. He took it and they shook. "You are a worthy opponent, that's for sure."

"I don't believe I've ever seen a better show of sportsmanship in my entire life than what I just saw now," came a voice. Harry looked over and saw Dumbledore walking over to them.

"Professor!" exclaimed Harry. "What are you doing here?"

"I never miss a Dueling Club meeting," he said. "I just came down to watch the last part of the match. It seems as though I was the only person who thought to do that."

"Everyone else was too afraid of getting eaten to come down," grinned Harry.

"When did you get back from the Ministry?" asked Malfoy, looking a little better.

"As a matter of fact, I just got here. This duel is the first part of Hogwarts I have seen all day. Though, I see this part has been destroyed." He surveyed the area quickly, with a frown on his face. "We're going to have to rebuild this entire room… and quickly too!"

"Professor," whispered Harry. "There's something I have to tell you."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait, Harry. There is much to do."

"I'm not sure if this can, professor."

"Well then," sighed Dumbledore, "tell me quick. There is much to be rebuilt, and many children to be revived."

"During the match," began Harry, making sure that Malfoy was out of hearing range. He was over helping Professor Flitwick enervate the unconscious kids. "During the match, I think someone used the Imperius Curse on some of the second years."

To this, Dumbledore rose an eyebrow.

"What makes you think that?" he asked curiously.

"Well, at one point during the duel, Chris and Joe attacked Hermione. They were trying to steal her bracelet. But, when I asked them about it afterwards, they said they didn't really remember doing it but did have a sensation of not being in control of themselves. Either they were very convincing, or it really happened. I think the latter is true in this situation."

"What would they want her Bracelet for?" asked Dumbledore slowly. Harry didn't know what to say. Should he tell him that he knew about the Immortal Potion, and all about the Sorcerer's Stone and the Ring of the Ancients that he had?

"I have no idea," lied Harry, playing it safe. He didn't' know what information he was supposed to know and what he shouldn't know. He'd just play dumb and safe for a while….

"Well, it is very easy to find out whether an illegal spell was used or not. All we need to do is take a trip down to the Ministry, and go to our suspect's files. In there are all the spells they've ever used. If someone has the Imperius Curse recorded inside, they are the culprit."

"Well, I don't think you'll have to search for very long," said Harry. "Neville did it. I'm sure of it."

"What makes you so sure?" questioned Dumbledore, crossing his arms.

"Well, for one, he is a Death Eater. He attacked me before, and he is Voldemort's personal slave. I think that's about all the evidence anyone would need. Why are you letting him stay at Hogwarts anyway? He's a Death Eater! You should toss him away!"

"Yes, I know that that would be the most logical course of action," sighed Dumbledore. "But, Neville, deep down, is a good kid. I'm sure that if we give him enough time and support, we can win him back."

"If you think so, professor," said Harry, not sharing his belief at this time.

"Harry!" yelled Hermione, running over to him. "I just got up! You didn't win!"

"I'll leave you two now," smiled Dumbledore, patting him on the shoulder, and walking off to Professor Flitwick who still looked in a state of perfect happiness over the excitement of the match.

"Yeah, Draco beat me this time," sighed Harry.

"Draco?" asked Hermione, scrunching her face a little. "That's the first time you've ever called him that."

"Yeah, well, first time for everything," grinned Harry, walking off, for the first time in his life, actually feeling happy that he had lost.


	12. Too Many Voldemorts!

Chapter 12- Too Many Voldemorts

It took the entire next week, and a few days into October to finally rebuild the Great Hall. The house elves were working overtime, and they could not be happier. Every day Harry walked by, he saw at least a hundred of them, bucket in one hand, some sort of

magical tool in the other, and a smile on their face. Sharing their enthusiasm was Malfoy. Everywhere, all that people talked about was his mighty victory over Harry. Some knew the two of them were friends now, some didn't. It didn't matter to them, no one stopped praising Malfoy for his magnificent transformation and wishing that they had seen it.

However, once the week got closer to Friday, the school-wide talk turned from the Dueling Club to the Wizard Duel Card Game Club. From what Harry had been hearing, there would be many more people attending this week's meeting than the handful that came to the last one. Despite all the hype, it wasn't really the meeting that Harry was looking forward to, but the meeting afterwards, with Cho.

"Come on Harry!" called Ron, about an hour before the club would meet. "I want to get down there early, so we can have some time to practice."

"Alright, alright," said Harry, rolling off of his bed, and onto the floor. He put his book down, and walked over to Ron, who was busy adding a few final touches to his deck. They walked down to the common room together, where both of them met a very angry looking Hermione.

"Where do you think you're going, Harry?" she demanded, her arms crossed and a single foot stomping.

"Um, to the Wizard Duel Club Meeting," said Harry, as if it were very obvious.

"Not this time," she said seriously.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron.

"You're not skipping this Prefect's Meeting!" barked Hermione. "It's the first one of the year, and it's a very important one."

Harry groaned.

"Oh come on Hermione," he sighed. "Not today…."

"Harry," she said, "with privileges come responsibilities. This is one of your responsibilities. You have to attend these meetings, so come on."

"But I'll miss the Wizard Duel meeting!"

"If you hurry up I'm sure you'll have time for both," said Hermione quickly, checking her watch. "But come on, we have to hurry now! Let's go!"

"Fine," sighed Harry, allowing Hermione to drag him out of the room. "See you later Ron! Don't wait up for me…."

"Don't worry, I won't," grinned Ron as they stepped out of the room. "Have fun!"

"So what exactly do we do at these meetings?" asked Harry as they started walking.

"You never did read your manual, did you?" asked Hermione, shaking her head. Seeing Harry do the same, she continued. "Well, I'll never know how you got to be a Prefect. I mean, sure you're grades are okay and all but-"

"Can you just tell me about the meetings?"

"Well, we do lots of stuff really," she explained. "We talk about things to change around the school to make it better, give the opinions of our house classmates on issues, nominate new prefects for next year, and more. It's really quite fun!"

"I'm sure," said Harry, rolling his eyes, just as they were passing the newly made Great Hall.

"Wow, the house elves really did a great job on it," smiled Hermione with her arms on her sides. She stopped for a minute to just look around. "And to think, they did all this… with pay!"

"Yeah, that's great Hermione," said Harry, not sharing her enthusiasm for equal elf rights. "But don't we have to go to the meeting?"

"Look at how beautiful they made the ceiling!" gasped Hermione, not paying attention to Harry. "And the walls, and the floor! Oh my! Just look at how well they did it, I can't believe they were paid to do this! Oh and look at-"

"Hermione!" yelled Harry, bringing her out of her catatonic state. "You dragged me away from the Wizard Duel meeting, and after that, we had better go now."

"Alright," said Hermione, taking one last look and then walking back.

She lead the rest of the way, still making a comment every now and then about house elves and such. By the time they reached the room, Harry was really wishing he was with Ron at the club meeting.

"Be sure to put your prefect badge on," said Hermione, fixing hers so that it was perfectly straight. "If you walk through the door without one on, you'll be blown backwards fifty feet."

"Wow," said Harry, taking his out of his pocket and attaching it to his robe, resisting the urge just to try out the trap anyways. He didn't really like wearing all the time like Hermione did. Though he liked the honor of being a Prefect, Harry wasn't sure he enjoyed all the power he had over the other students, especially those others who were worthy of his position.

Once Hermione was satisfied with how Harry's badge looked, she opened the door and revealed the inside. To Harry's surprise, it wasn't elaborate at all. There were no posters, banners, fountains or anything in the room. All the was were several school desk chairs set out before two slightly larger chairs, with the words 'Head Boy' engraved onto one, and 'Head Girl' engraved onto the other. As soon as the two of them entered, all twenty heads turned towards them.

"Ah, I'm happy to see that Harry Potter has finally decided to join us," said the Head Boy, Joe Bob. He gave a weak smile, and waved his arm in the direction of the chairs.

"Time to sit down, Harry," said Hermione, nudging him in the side. The two of them took the only two chairs left.

"Now that were are all here," said the Head Girl, Dora, "and since it is the first meeting of the year, I think we should all introduce ourselves, so that we can refer to each other by name and not just by house and year. So, let us begin with a roll call."

"I will call out your grade, then house, then name," continued Joe Bob. "When you are called, simply say: 'Here,' I don't want any 'presents' or other such nonsense, got it? Alright. Let us begin with," he opened up a small scroll that was on the floor next to his chair, "Fifth Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Aniruddha Gollapalli."

"Here," said a tall, Indian boy whom Harry thought he had seen before in the common room.

"Fifth Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Megan Williams."

"Here."

"Fifth Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Zac Peeples."

"Here."

"Fifth Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Holly Smith."

"Here"

"Fifth Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Andrew Arena."

"Here."

"Fifth Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Andrea Anera."

"Here."

"Fifth Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Geoff Halliday."

"Here."

"Fifth Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Kush Raj."

"Here."

"Sixth Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Harry Potter."

"Here," said Harry quickly, slouching in his chair. This roll call was taking forever.

"Sixth Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Hermione Granger."

"Here," said Hermione loudly and proudly.

"Sixth Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Paulo Calvacanti."

"Here."

"Sixth Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Lisa Turpin."

"Here."

"Sixth Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Ernie Macmillan."

"Here."

"Sixth Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Hannah Abbot."

"Here."

"Sixth Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Draco Malfoy."

"Here," said Malfoy, about as enthusiastically as Harry. For a fraction of a second, Harry wished he were in Slytherin, so he could sit there next to Malfoy and have a good time, instead of sitting here next to uptight Hermione.

"Sixth Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Pansy Parkinson."

"Here."

"Seventh Year Prefect, and Head Boy, for Gryffindor House, Joe Bob BobJoe…. Here!" said the Head Boy, chuckling to himself. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Seventh Year Prefect for Gryffindor House, Casey Wilson."

"Here."

"Seventh Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Felix Malinkevich."

"Here."

"Seventh Year Prefect for Ravenclaw House, Montana Sweet."

"Here."

"Seventh Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Shane Joyce."

"Here."

"Seventh Year Prefect for Hufflepuff House, Tricia McMillan."

"Here."

"Seventh Year Prefect for Slytherin House, Max Kashdan."

"Here."

"Seventh Year Prefect, and Head Girl, for Slytherin House, Dora TheExplorer."

"Here," said the girl next to him.

"Excellent," said Joe Bob, putting the scroll away. "Everyone is here."

"Now, down to business," said Dora. "We have much to discuss…."

"Ah yes, we have hundreds of topics," added Joe Bob, hitting the armrest of this chair with his hand and staring blankly at the crowd of students. Then, after waiting a

second or two, he gave a small cough that echoed throughout the room. "So… does anyone have anything to talk about, because I sure as heck don't."

The Sixth Year Ravenclaw Prefect, Paulo, raised his hand.

"Yes!" said Joe Bob, pointing at him. "What is it?"

Paulo stood up.

"I was just wondering," he said quite loudly, "how does this school intend to deal with the letters from You-Know-Who, sent to us just a matter of weeks ago? Is the body of professors planning some sort of show of aggression to their senders, or are we going to take the passive side of the imbroglio and merely allow time to nurse this wound?"

"Well, that is a very god question, Paulo," said Joe Bob, clearing his throat. "There are many things that are planned for the letters, most of which have happened already. Watch and you shall see."

He reached into his pocket, and took out his letter from Voldemort. Harry was shocked to see that he still had it, and even more so that it appeared as though it had been opened.

"You can make it into an elephant!" He threw the letter out in front of him so that it hovered in the air, and shot a magical beam at it. The letter instantly turned into a two dimensional version of an elephant, and gave a roar. There was some scattered laughing.

"Or even an owl," he said, magicking the letter again, and turning the elephant into an origami version of an owl. It gave a hoot and flew around rather awkwardly. "Look! A letter that carries letters!" There was a bit more laughter this time.

"And don't underestimate the letter's power as a mode of transportation," continued Joe Bob, hitting the owl with yet another beam, and making it into a spaceship which he jumped into and flew about the room in. "Yeehaw!" This time, everyone except Harry laughed. He just didn't see how Joe Bob could take such a serious situation like this and twist it into some sort of comedic act.

"And last but not least," said Joe Bob, jumping out of the paper ship and into his chair "the letter's natural power as fire fuel." He conjured a hovering fire, and made the ship fly right into it, causing a small but impressive show of fireworks to appear. To this, everyone except Harry stood up and cheered.

"So as you can see, Paulo," concluded Joe Bob, making the fire disappear and putting the ashes from the letter into a small trashcan by making a magical dustpan appear. "There are many things to do with the letter, though I most highly recommend the last one."

"Why didn't you stand up, Harry?" asked Hermione when everyone sat down.

"I don't know," said Harry, staring at Joe Bob. "There's just something about him that strikes me as… odd."

"How so?" asked Hermione.

"Like how he still has his letter, and how he made what should have been a very serious question's answer into a funny show."

"Oh Harry," said Hermione, "you really have to lighten up. I mean, most of the kids kept their letters just for show, and comedy is a god way to escape fear. I think what Joe Bob did was commendable almost."

"Whatever," said Harry, turning his attention back to the Head Boy and Girl. They were answering another question that someone else had asked and Harry had missed. Then, just when Harry was beginning to understand what the question was, he

saw the trashcan that Joe Bob had put the ashes of the letter in glow a faint blue. The ashes slowly then rose out of the bin, and went under Joe Bob's chair where they materialized back into the letter. Harry rubbed his eyes and shook his head, just to be sure that what he just saw happen had actually occurred. He looked around furiously, to see if anyone else had notice, but they were all nodding and commenting on the current topic. Harry looked at Joe Bob, and saw a small smile on his face… he had brought his letter back.

"Is there a problem, Harry?" asked Joe Bob, turning to look at him. "You were looking around the room like a madman… is everything alright?"

"Well…" said Harry, his minds racing. Should he say he saw him bring back his letter? "No… everything's fine."

"That was certainly a fun and interesting meeting," said Hermione as everyone was standing up and getting ready to leave.

"Yeah, sure," said Harry, not really paying attention to her. He checked his watch. Good; if he hurried, he could still make it in time for the Wizard Duel club meeting. "I've got to go, Hermione. See you later!"

"Fine, go have fun at your little kiddy game club," called Hermione after him.

"Oh, you know you had fun cheering me on at the last meeting, Hermione," Harry yelled back at her.

"Err… well, see you later Harry!"

Harry ran towards the room where the club would meet. As he got closer, he removed his Prefect Badge, and put it down into the dark depths of his pocket. He didn't want anyone there thinking they had to go easy on him because if they beat him in a match he'd take away points from their house. Shortly after, Harry arrived at the room where Ak and Ron were in the middle of a match to show everyone how the game was played.

"-and now I attack with my last Bewitched Tea Cup!" said Ron. They were using the holographic table for the demonstration, and Harry saw Ron's cup spill some hot tea onto Ak's deck. "And since my five teacups have a power of five each, you have to discard the top twenty-five cards of your deck! Take that Ak!"

"A good move," said Ak as Harry sat down. He was amazed to see that there were at least seventy people in the room this time. The space was almost entirely filled, and Harry had to work his way through the crowd for a front row seat. "But not good enough."

"What do you mean?" asked Ron. "I have twenty cards in my deck and five fighters out in play. You, on the other hand, have four cards in your deck with no fighters out. Next turn, when my cups attack again, you're dead! There's no way you can win."

"Ha, you shall see," said Ak, allowing the table to give him his card. "For my first action, I shall play the Increase Time Spell which gives me an additional action during my turn. I now have a total of three actions to use instead of two.

"And now, I shall play… Voldemort!" Ak threw the card out onto the field, and when it materialized, there were a few shrieks of terror and surprise, though not too many. After all, most of the people here came from hearing about Harry's victory over

Ak, and knew from that that Voldemort was a card. "And you should know his special ability, Ron. When he comes into play, all of your cards are discarded."

"No!" yelled Ron, seeing his five teacups shatter and explode. A nice little effect.

"Now you have nothing to defend you from his power," grinned Ak.

"Nice try," said Ron. "It's not like he can even attack this turn! You just played him, and you can only attack at the beginning of your turn."

"I already knew that," said Ak. "And to fix that problem, I will play, the Quick-Attack Spell!" Ak placed the spell onto Voldemort, and little winged shoes appeared on his feet. "Now I can attack you."

"Once last thing, Ak," said Ron. "I have twenty cards, and Vold- er, You-Know-Who only has a power of ten. I won't lose this turn."

"Ron you fool," yelled Ak, looking a little annoyed. "I've had this all planned out. I know that little thing, and to resolve it, I will play Unholy Strength Curse. It doubles one of my fighter's power for a single turn. Now he has sufficient power."

"So I…"

"Lose!" yelled Ak, having his Voldemort attack Ron and making his deck vanish. All the holographic cards on the table disappeared and the decks were released from their holders. "Good game Ron."

"Yeah, I didn't expect to win against you anyways," sighed Ron, taking his deck out of the slot, not really sounding as though he truly believed in what he just said.

"Now!" said Ak to the rest of the people there. "Now that you all know how to play, it is time for the club tournament to begin! It will be a single elimination tournament, each of you will face one other, and the winner will go on."

"Like how the Dueling Club used to do it!" piped a little voice from somewhere in the crowd. Harry thought is sounded like Joe.

"Yes, but not exactly," said Ak. "You see, if I put all of your names into a hat, and read them all out, it would take far too long and this meeting wouldn't be over until next week. So, to make all of our lives easier, I and the rest of my fellow heads of the club have already put all of your names up on this chart." He waved his hand in the direction of a wall of the room. On it was a massive chart that had everyone's name in individual boxes at the bottom. Connecting every consecutive two boxes was a single line, and another line went up that was perpendicular to that one. Connected to that line was another box which began the whole process over again, connecting every two consecutive boxes, until it went all the way up to the top to a single box where the winner's name would be put. It was like a pyramid going up, made out of lines and boxes.

"You will fight the person in the box that is connected to yours," continued Ak. "Whoever wins will have their name magically put in the box above your two, and the process will begin again until there is only one champion. Those who lose are free to roam the playing area and watch. The holographic table will only be used for the final match. Are you ready to begin?"

"Yeah!" yelled the crowd excitedly.

Ak smiled.

"Excellent. Just go over to the wall, check the chart, and see who you have to face. Good luck to you all!"

Harry, along with everyone else in the room, ran over to the massive chart and checked who his first opponent was. It was some kid who he had never heard of, and would therefore be hard to find. Luckily, the kid found him first. Sometimes, it came in handy to be popular.

"Are you, Harry Potter?" he asked. The kid was around three feet tall, and his head was about twice as large as his incredibly skinny body. It looked as though one good wind would knock him over and cause him to break.

"Uh, yeah. That's me."

The kid stuck out his tongue in quite an odd way, and scrunched his eyes closed and made some sort of squeaking noise which seemed to come out from his spine rather than his mouth.

"Great! Let's play!" he squealed.

It was an incredibly easy game. The kid took forever to get a fighter out into play, and when he finally did manage to put send out a house elf, Harry already had ten other fighters ready to go, and the kid had around five cards left in his deck. The house elf was quickly made history, and the kid's deck count was zero.

"Good game!" screeched the kid as he gathered up all his cards and mushed them together into one giant pile.

"Yeah… sure," said Harry, walking away slowly, back to the chart on the wall to see who his next match would be against. He saw that it would be against someone he knew, Seamus for a change, and he looked around the mass of people for him. After searching for a second, he saw that Seamus was readily engaged in a match that looked like a win for him. To kill some time, Harry decided to talk to Ak about some new strategies. He looked around for him, and saw, like himself, that he had beaten his opponent already and was just waiting around for his next victim to finish his current game.

"Hey Ak!" called Harry, stepping over a few kids to make his way to him.

"What's up Harry? You beat your opponent already too?"

"Yeah, he was pretty easy."

There was a few second of silence as they both surveyed the playing field.

"I can't believe how many people came here," said Ak, biting his bottom lip and nodding his head. "Sixty-four in all. The perfect number for a tournament."

"I saw you in the practice game earlier," said Harry, trying to find out some things about Ak's strategy, just in case it came down to the two of them again. "It looks like you've changed your strategy quite a bit. No more Cloning Chambers or Flobberworms."

"Yeah, I've completely changed my deck around," sighed Ak, rocking back and forth, his cape billowing. "I found my weaknesses from playing against you last time and decided to change my tactics. Now, instead of playing with Flobberworms, I just use Voldemorts."

"What's so great about that card?" asked Harry. "I mean, it's good and rare, but to base a whole deck around it…."

"Oh," grinned Ak, "you shall see Harry… you shall see."

"Hey Harry!" called Seamus. "We've got to play now!"

"Alright," said Harry, turning around, and feeling a little disappointed that he didn't find out more about Ak's deck. "I'm coming."

Compared to his last match, this one was downright difficult. Harry had to actually think before he played some cards, though not very hard. Seamus was just a slightly better version of the kid Harry played last time, they both had about the same quality cards. A few hard ones here and there, but nothing Harry couldn't deal with by playing a few Killing Curses or Stupefies. It was over pretty quickly.

"Good game," said Harry as his phoenix delivered the last blow to Seamus' deck.

"Yeah yeah," he growled back, looking down at the ground and gathering up his scattered cards. Harry shrugged, stood up, and walked over to the chart which already showed that he was the winner of the last match.

"Three more to go," said Harry to himself as he looked at the chart and saw that he was in the quarterfinals. According to the table, his next opponent was some other kid, Susej Tsirch. "Weird name." He looked around for a weird looking kid to match the name, but saw no one.

"Are you Harry Potter?" whispered a kid behind Harry. He turned around, and saw another student that looked almost exactly like his first opponent. But this one was a little bit taller, a ghostly pale all over, shivering slightly, and appeared to be on the verge of tears. He was also holding a small box which Harry assumed contained his cards.

"Yeah," said Harry, eyeing him suspiciously, and trying not to speak too loud. It seemed as though even if he talked too much the kid would explode into a million pieces. "Are you okay?" To this comment, the kid dropped his box of cards, and they spilled all over. He scrunched his eyes up and made his hands into fists.

"Why… does… everyone… ask… me… if… I'm… okay?" he whispered. He began shaking furiously all over, and Harry wondered if he was going to go into a spasm. Just when Harry was about to call for help, the kid threw his hands into the air and ran out of the room, screaming and running over everyone's heads.

"Wow," said Harry as everyone returned to their games after that little moment of insanity. "These new kids are really weird." He turned back to the chart, and saw that it had declared him the winner. Harry's name moved up into the next box and showed his next opponent.

"Aylar," hissed Harry. "That little cheater and card counterfeiter is going to pay." Harry scanned the room for any sign of where he was, and caught sight of him off in a corner. Harry stepped over a few people and cards to make his way over to him, just in time for the match's end.

"Another ten points of damage to you," smiled Aylar, finishing off his opponent. Now, Harry saw that he had put the money he made from selling cards to use. He had rings all up and down all of his fingers that shone all the colors of the rainbow. His robe was made of a thin and silvery cloth that looked finer than silk, but harder the steel as it made a clanking noise when it touched the floor. His hair was done up in a very interesting fashion: it was highlighted gold all over, and he had his bangs come down to cover one eye. He looked more like he was the evil mastermind of a horrible company than a second year student.

"You ready to play, Aylar?" asked Harry, still scanning him.

"It depends, are you ready to be my next victim, Harry?" smiled Aylar, moving his hand in a circular motion and having all the cards float up to it. He pushed his old opponent aside magically and beckoned Harry to sit.

"Nice rings," said Harry, sitting down and shuffling his deck.

"I couldn't say the same for-" said Aylar, before he actually looked at Harry's. He stopped shuffling his cards, and became entranced with Harry's rings. He didn't move at all, he didn't even blink.

"What?" asked Harry after Aylar's staring was beginning to creep him out.

"Wha- oh! Nothing…" said Aylar, shaking his head an coming back to reality. Did he know what Harry's Ring was? "But where on Earth… where did you get that ring?"

"You mean this clear one?" asked Harry, setting his deck down.

"No no!" hissed Aylar, waving his arm. "The other one… the skull one."

"Oh, I… uh… picked it up in a shop," said Harry, drawing his opening hand and trying to enjoy the moment in which he had something Aylar wanted and could not have, no matter how many cards he counterfeited.

"What shop did you-"

"Can we just get on with the game," interrupted Harry. "This is match is in the semifinals after all."

"Yeah, alright," said Aylar, setting his deck down, and summoning his opening cards to his hand telekinetically. "Let's get started."

"And you can go first."

"No, you go first."

"No, you."

"No, you."

"No, you!"

"No, you!"

"No, YOU!"

"Fine!" said Aylar, putting his hands up into the air. "I'll go first…. That will make you lose faster." He laughed and made the top card of his deck float to his hand. "And for my first action," Harry noticed that there was a group of people gathering around them, "I will play… heh, how about this? Harry Potter!" Aylar threw his card onto the playing field, and indeed it was a Harry Potter card.

"I'm a card?" gasped Harry. "Let me see that!" He picked the card up off of the ground, and read it over. "Well, at least I'm a pretty good card… though this one is a counterfeit version." He slapped the card back onto the ground, and squinted at Aylar. He merely shrugged.

"Enh," said Aylar. "Most of my cards are fake but… so are most of the kid's here." He straightened his card out, placed it back on the ground, and returned to examining his hand. "And for my next action, I will play a Merfolk." He set the card down, and Harry wished they were playing on the holographic table so he could see himself interact with Aylar's other cards. "Your turn."

"I know," said Harry, drawing his card, and looking at his hand. An Electo Poli spell, a Stupefy, another Stupefy, a phoenix, a house elf, and a Hippogriff. Not too bad, not great either though. "I'm going to play a phoenix for my first action, and for my second, I will Stupefy myself!" Harry put the cards out.

"What do you mean, Stupefy yourself?" asked Aylar, playing with his rings.

"I mean I'm going to Stupefy your Harry Potter card," said Harry, throwing the Stupefy spell card onto him. "And he can't attack me next turn and kill my phoenix."

"Nice move," said Aylar, beginning his turn. "You've played the best of all my opponents so far… not that that's saying much." He looked around the crowd around them and glared at his previous opponents who all hid their faces. "Anyway, I will of course not attack your phoenix with my Merfolk since its power is much higher. But, I will, for my first action, play Call of the Ocean."

"What's that do?" asked Harry.

"It's pretty nice, actually," smirked Aylar. "I discard one Merfolk in play to search my deck for five other Merfolk and put them into play." He tapped the one he had in play with his finger and it flew over to Aylar's discard pile. Once he did that, he made his deck glow bright, and five new Merfolk cards shot out from inside and into play. Harry noticed that each one had an 'A' in the bottom left hand corner. "Now, I will play Grablulk, The Legendary Merchieftan. He doubles all of my Merfolk's power, but it comes at a slight drawback. Every time one of my Merfolk go to my discard pile, I have to discard cards equal to its power."

"Sounds pretty bad," said Harry, beginning his turn.

"Not really, it usually helps more than it hurts. Especially when I get lots of Merfolk into play."

"Whatever," said Harry, drawing his card. It was another Electo Poli. He was beginning to feel a little nervous; he wasn't getting anything really good that could help him. "I'm going to Stupefy your Harry Potter again," Harry felt so awkward saying that, "and then I'm going to play my Hippogriff." He put the cards down, and ended his turn, not in a much better situation now then he was at the beginning.

"Alright then," said Aylar, grinning. "Prepare to be destroyed, Harry. For my first action, I'm going to play Song of the Seas, which doubles the amount of Merfolk I have in play, and if I have a Grablulk in play, it quadruples my number. So, I now have twenty four Merfolk in play, even though the copied Grablulk don't retain their special abilities." Aylar slammed the card down on the table, and twenty four blank cards magically appeared. Harry raised an eyebrow upon seeing them appear. "That's a little bit of my own magic. It makes it easier to remember how many I have."

"Great," said Harry, feeling like he did at the last match when he was facing thousands of Flobberworms. Where was Voldemort when he needed him?

"And then," continued Aylar, "I am going to play Aqua Nero. It deals damage, divided however I like it, to your fighters, based on my fighters' total power, if they are Merfolk. Since their total power is forty, I will deal twenty to your Hippogriff, and twenty to your phoenix, killing them both." He put the card down, and Harry discarded his two fighters. Things were definitely not going well. "Your turn Harry."

"Great," he sighed, drawing his card. If he didn't get a fighter, he was in trouble. He needed something to block the damage that was going to come to him from the Merfolk. Harry breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw that he got another house elf… a very small sigh of relief. He played it quickly and then drew another card, with the hopes of getting Voldemort, but he instead got another Electo Poli. Harry ended his turn in a very bad position.

"I expected better from you Harry," sighed Aylar as he drew his card. "I really did… but, oh well. First off, I'll attack your house elf with all of my fighters, killing it, leaving you fighter-less. Then, I'm going to play the Ocean card. It transforms the playing field into a massive sea, and increases all of my Merfolk's power by one. Lastly, I will draw a card, and ask you to give up Harry."

"Why should I?" he asked, feeling as though he should, but not really wanting to.

"Because," whispered Aylar, leaning in, "if you don't, you will receive a very bad defeat that could embarrass you."

"More so than giving up?" asked Harry. "I don't think so… besides, I can still win."

"Whatever," said Aylar, leaning back.

Harry started t his deck. He had to get something good… he had to! But, the only thing that could help him in this situation was Voldemort. As much as he hated even saying it, he needed that card! Harry closed his eyes, and reached for the top card. He drew it, turned it around, and opened his eyes.

"Another Electo Poli," sighed Harry, putting it into his hand. "I really have to get rid of a few of those." Next turn, he was dead. He had no fighters left to block the damage, and it would all go to his deck. Unless he could destroy all of Aylar's Merfolk this turn, he was doomed. But, there was no way to do that-

Suddenly, Harry took a closer look at the four Electo Polis in his hand. He noticed, that in addition to dealing two damage to a fighter or a player's deck, it had another special ability.

"If the battlefield is currently water," read Harry off the card, "then Electo Poli deals two damage to all of your opponent's fighters instead of just one." Harry thought about this for a second. "Aylar, the Ocean car makes the battlefield water, right?"

"Yeah," he said, tapping his fingers on the floor and looking very impatient.

"Of course!" said Harry to himself. "Water conducts electricity! Thank you Electo Poli!" Harry took one out of his hand, and set it down into play. "For my first action, I will play Electo Poli! And since the battlefield is water, it deals two damage to all of your cards, Aylar! That means all of your little Merfolk with a power of two are gone!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"So, you killed my Merfolk," said Aylar, discarding them.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" questioned Harry.

"What?" asked Aylar is if he knew what it was.

"Your Grablulk's ability, it makes it so that if I kill a Merfolk, your deck takes damage equal to its power. So you take… eighty damage."

"So?" yelled Aylar, discarding eighty cards from his deck. "That's still not enough to defeat me, I have a hundred card deck!"

"Yes," grinned Harry, "but… I'm going to play another Electo Poli which kills your Grablulks too! Now, Aylar, you are defeated!"

Aylar just stared at Harry for a second, as if in a state of disbelief.

"You…beat… me?" he gasped, looking at Harry still, then turning to his cards.

"Yep," said Harry. "I guess that shows… cheaters never win."

"But I-"

"Try getting some real cards, Aylar," spat Harry, gathering up his deck, and walking away quickly from that horrible cheater, back to the chart to see who he would face in the final match, though he didn't have much doubt about who it was going to be.

"Ak," said Harry to himself, seeing that that was whom he was going to fight. He turned around and saw that the group of students that were watching his and Aylar's match were now migrating over to the last few seconds of Ak's. Apparently, the chart was so confident in Ak's victory, it had already paired him up with Harry for the final.

Harry pushed his way through a few kids and got to the front of the pack. There, he saw who Ak's victim was.

"-and you take… twenty damage, Ron," smiled Ak, finishing Ron off. "And since you have only ten cards left in your deck, I win."

The crowd surrounding the match burst into applause, it must have been a very good match. Harry wished he could have seen it. Ron and Ak shook hands, and they both gathered up their cards.

"Good game," said Ron, looking pleased with himself even though he had lost.

"You fared much better this time than in the exhibition match," said Ak, shuffling his deck back together. "But… not good enough."

"Yeah yeah, I'll get you when we play again."

"Ak!" called Harry suddenly, trying to sound superior. The crowd of students turned to him, and became silent. "It's time."

"Alright then," he said, standing up. "Let's go." He waved a hand toward to the holographic-image-generating table. He began walking over to it, and the group of students followed. But, before Harry went over there, he wanted any sort of helpful information that he could get.

"Hey Ron," he whispered quickly.

"Yeah?" he said, organizing the last few scattered cards.

"How's his deck?" To this, Ron let out a big sigh.

"It's really bad."

"Bad?" asked Harry. "Bad as in… good, right?"

"Bad as in evil."

"Evil? How so?"

Just as Ron opened his mouth to answer, Ak's voice rang through the room.

"Harry!" he bellowed. "Are you ready?"

"Fine, I'm coming," called Harry back, not feeling too confident. As he walked towards the table, the crowd of students parted for him, making a path for him to go through. It was as if he had a shield around him that pushed everyone away from him.

When Harry got to the table, he pulled out the chair opposite of Ak and sat down, staring at Ak's smiling face. He was shuffling his deck, wearing a very distinct and evil grin. Apparently, he was trying to intimidate Harry, and psyche him out or something. But, it wasn't his expression that was affecting Harry, it was the group of students watching them that was. There were so many of them, and they were all compacted into a very small space, all staring right at them… observing their every move. It was like Harry was under a microscope, and hundreds of scientists were trying to look in it at the same time.

Despite all of these distractions, Harry quickly shuffled his deck and put it into the slot in the table. He saw Ak do the same, and the battle began. The table dealt Harry his five starting cards.

"Not too bad," said Harry to himself, eyeing his starting hand. "A Hippogriff, a Stupefy Spell, an Electo Poli, a Phoenix, and an Engorgio Spell."

"Now, let's see who goes first," said Ak, tapping the table with his wand. A large and shiny coin appeared in the middle of the table. It looked like a larger version of a Galleon. "Do you want wizard or ministry?"

"Huh?" asked Harry, very confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You know," sighed Ak. "It's like the Muggle version of heads and tails. There's a wizard head on one side of a Galleon, and a picture of the Ministry of Magic on the other. Which side do you want?"

"Wizard side," said Harry. "You know about heads and tails, eh? Are you a Muggle-born, Ak?"

"Well… yeah," said Ak, not looking as though he were very comfortable about talking about that issue. "You want wizard… okay!" He tapped the holographic coin, and it flew into the air, spun around a few times and then landed back on the table in Harry's favor.

"It is wizards," sighed Ak, "you go first." The galleon disappeared, and the game began. The table dealt Harry his card.

"A Lumos Spell," said Harry to himself as the card appeared before him. After a few seconds of consideration, he figured out what he was going to play. "For my first action, I'll play a phoenix." Harry grabbed the holographic phoenix, and placed it out on the field. The usual burst of lights came and the small holographic fiery bird appeared, flapping its wings and singing every now and then.

"Next, I will play my Hippogriff." Harry did the same thing he did with the phoenix, and the very small version of the Hippogriff appeared, flying around the phoenix, and trying to get it to play. "Your turn."

"Very well," said Ak, getting his card. "Time for the first step on the journey towards your defeat, Harry. For my first action, I will play Grindelwald, the Dark Wizard." Ak dragged the card out onto the table and the small Grindelwald appeared. He looked a lot like Voldemort, around the same height and build. However, instead of being white all over, he was rather… bumpy. He had scabs, scars, boils, and blisters all over his skin, nearly covering all of his body. In fact, the only thing that was entirely visible was one eye that had red veins popping out all over. He looked more like something you'd expect to find in a toilet after you've thrown up in it than anything else.

"Wow," said Harry, "I guess this game has been around for a while. Grindelwald died in 1945.…"

"Yeah," said Ak, throwing off Harry's comment. "Grindelwald is a very vicious card. At any time, I can discard one of my fighters in play to return a fighter from my discard pile or my hand to play. It fits Grindelwald well, he was known for getting rid of old and obsolete followers in exchange for new ones."

"Great…."

"Now, for my second action, I'm going to play… the Sorcerer's Stone." Ak put the card into play, and a blood-red and shiny Stone appeared.

"Now what does that do?"

Ak gave Harry a very wide grin.

"The two cards I have in play now, Harry, make one of the greatest combinations in the entire game. You see, the Sorcerer's Stone's ability is, whenever one of my fighters would be discarded, I instead return it to my hand. Now, Grindelwald's ability's cost is that I discard one of my fighters, but the Sorcerer's Stone prevents my fighters from being discarded. So, basically, I can put any number of fighters from my discard pile or hand into play during my turn."

Harry's mind was spinning. How could that good of a combo exist? Now, Harry would be unable to discard any of Ak's fighters… how could he possibly win?

"That's… good," said Harry, unable to think of anything else.

"Your turn," smiled Ak.

"Okay," gasped Harry. "Well, since Grindelwald's power is higher than either my phoenix's or my Hippogriff's, I'm not going to attack this turn." Ak nodded, and the table gave Harry his card. Harry did a silent cheer.

"Yes!" he said to himself happily. "A Korosucide Spell! It discards one random card that my opponent has in play. Hopefully it will be the Sorcerer's Stone…."

"Are you going to do anything?" asked Ak impatiently, leaning back in his chair. Harry shook himself back into reality. He had been staring at the holographic card for a while and didn't even notice it.

"Yeah. For my first action, I will play… Korosucide!" Harry dragged the card into play and saw that it had an effect on Ak. He immediately sat up and put his hands on the table, knowing that it was a potential threat. Just as he did, the effect of the Korosucide Spell took place. A small mushroom cloud appeared… right over the Sorcerer's Stone, just as Harry had wanted.

"No!" yelled Ak. "You discarded it!"

"Sure did," grinned Harry, watching the Sorcerer's Stone's glow fade, and then move over to the discard pile. "And now I am going to play an Engorgio Spell on my phoenix, doubling its power from eight to sixteen, one more than Grindelwald's! Next turn, when I attack, he's dead! How's that for a comeback, Ak?"

Ak didn't say anything. He just let the table give him his card… and then he smiled.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," said Ak, letting his face become neutral again. "For my first action, I will play an Apoyiosi Spell on Grindelwald here. That spell makes all damage that goes to him, come to me instead. So, he's safe at least. Next, I'll play… a Summoning Charm, which lets me draw five cards."

"Some nice moves," said Harry, beginning to feel as though he was taking control of the board. "But, I don't think they're good enough, Ak."

"Whatever."

"It's my turn now," announced Harry, "and I will begin by attacking Grindelwald with my phoenix. Since it had the Apoyiosi Spell on it, you take sixteen damage, Ak." Harry watched as the top sixteen cards of his deck went to the discard pile and couldn't help but smile. He let the table give him his card: another Stupefy. Those wouldn't be any good right now, though. Ak wouldn't dare attack with Grindelwald anyways.

"For my first action, I'll draw a card," said Harry, not having anything better to do. The table dealt him his card: a Merging Spell. Now, he could combine his souped-up

phoenix and Hippogriff into a superior creature. "For my last action, I'll combine my two fighters into one, using the Merging Spell!"

Harry flicked the card into play, and watched as his two minions became one. They both shone a bright silver, and then flowed together, like liquid metal. It became harder, and took shape. Color started coming back to the creature, and it gave off a single, bright light. What was revealed was a very interesting beast. It had the body of a Hippogriff, but the wings and head of a phoenix. It didn't look like it could really hold its own in the wild, but it was more than a match for Ak in this game.

"Your turn," said Harry mockingly. Just three attacks with his new fighter, and the game was over. Harry could taste victory. Ak just sighed, and took his card.

"First, I'll play another Summoning Charm," said Ak, getting five more cards. "Then, I'll play a Banishing Charm."

"What does that do?" asked Harry curiously.

"Well, I flip a coin," said Ak, tapping the table with his wand and making the same, large Galleon appear again. "If it's wizards, then you have to discard all but one card in your hand. If its Ministry, then I have to discard all but one card in my hand."

"Sound like fun," said Harry, not having anything really spectacular to lose.

"Let's go!" cried Ak, flipping the coin. It shot up in the air again, spun around, and then landed. Once again, in Harry's favor. "Oh no! Ministry!"

Harry let a small chuckle get out as he watched all but one of the cards in Ak's hands soar over to his discard pile. Harry heard the same from the crowd around him… Ak's luck was definitely somewhere else today. First Harry went first, then the Korosucide Spell worked perfectly, and now he lost almost his entire hand!

"Too bad," said Harry. "But, it's my turn now. Of course, I will attack Grindelwald with my new Hippo-Phoenix, making you lose twenty cards, Ak."

"Yeah yeah," he sighed, "I know."

"Next, I'll take my card." The table shot it at Harry: a Fotia Poli. "Excellent. Now I can end this match even sooner."

"How so?"

"I'm playing Fotia Poli now," smiled Harry. "In case you don't know, it makes you discard the top five cards of your deck, unless you have three or more fighters in play, which you obviously don't."

"Yeah yeah, I know what it does," hissed Ak, watching five more cards leave his deck.

"Now, I'll just draw another card," said Harry happily. He could have jumped for joy when he saw what it was: another Engorgio Spell. Next turn, he was going to double his Hippo-Phoenix's power, and finish off Ak.

"My turn," announced Ak with a very appropriate sad tone to his voice. He took his card, and retained his neutral face. Harry couldn't tell if what he drew was going to help him or not by his expression, he'd just have to wait and see.

"I'm going to play," he announced, "the Kamikaze Spell!"

"What does that do?"

"Yet again, I flip a coin," said Ak, making the Galleon appear again. "If it's wizard side, you discard all but one card of your deck, if it's Ministry side, I discard all but one card of my deck."

"Sounds pretty risky," said Harry, suddenly getting a small pang of nervousness.

"Yeah, and it comes at a cost too," sighed Ak. "I have to discard all of my fighters in play… so bye bye Grindelwald." Harry laughed out loud as Grindelwald exploded in a pussy mess, and then hovered on over to Ak's ever growing discard pile.

"You'd better hope you get Wizard side up," said Harry, not wanting at all for that to happen.

"Believe me," said Ak, tapping the coin with his wand, "I am." The coin, once again, flew into the air, spun around, and landed with a burst of laughter and shock from the crowd and Harry.

"Ministry side!" exclaimed Harry, nearly falling over in his chair. "Ak! What's going on with you today?"

"I… don't… know…" said Ak through gritted teeth as he watch almost all of his cards fly on over to the pile of garbage. "I'll end my turn early this time."

"Whatever!" said Harry ecstatically, throwing his hands into the air. He couldn't believe it. He was going to beat Ak… again! "I'll just attack you with my Hippo-Phoenix and-"

"Not so fast!" yelled Ak suddenly.

"What?" said Harry. "I'm attacking you with my fighter. The game's over! I win!"

"Not really…" said Ak with a really horrible grin on his face.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, beginning to get a little annoyed. "You have no cards in your deck! I have won!"

"No, Harry," said Ak quietly. "The battle has just begun. For you see, I am playing… Hell's Concoction."

"How can you play that?" yelled Harry. "It's not even your turn!"

"But that's just it," smiled Ak. "Hell's Concoction only activates under three distinct conditions: one, it has to be in your hand; two, you have to have only used one action during your previous turn; and three, you have to have only one card in your deck."

"Well," said Harry, feeling a little nervous, "what does it do?"

Ak's grin became so wide, Harry thought it was going to fall off his face.

"First of all, it changes the game around so that it's my turn. Then, it returns all of the cards in my discard pile to my hand, except for ten. Those go back to my deck."

"What?" yelled Harry among gasps of shock and surprise from the crowd. "No card can be that powerful!"

"Hell's Concoction is the potion that brought You-Know-Who back from the dead," whispered Ak, letting the table give him all but ten of his cards back. "Giving me a few cards is nothing compared to that."

"That's…not… fair…" whimpered Harry.

"Life's never fair," snarled Ak. "Anyway, back to the game. It's my turn and I'll start off my playing an Increase Time Spell. Now I have three actions. For one of them, I'll play another Sorcerer's Stone, and for another I'll play another Grindelwald."

Ak threw the two cards out on the battlefield, really enjoying Harry's face of terror.

"And now I will play another Increase Time Spell, and using one of those new two actions, I'll play a Voldemort." There were a few screams, but not from seeing

Voldemort appear on the field, just from hearing Ak say the name. "Oh, and by the way, Voldemort kills your little Hippo-Phoenix with his ability."

"Yeah, I know," spat Harry, watching his fighter die and then move on into his discard pile.

"Now, using Grindelwald's ability, I'll discard Voldemort, to put another Voldemort from my hand into play! But, thanks to Mr. Sorcerer Stone over here, the one I discarded stays in play." The other Voldemort appeared next to the other one, and the two glared at each other, as if trying to prove that only one of them was the real one.

"What!" yelled Harry suddenly. "You have two Voldemorts!" Ak smiled.

"I have more than two Harry… I'll 'discard' the two I have in play now to play two more Voldemorts! What are you going to do now?"

Two more Voldemort's materialized on the field, and it was far too many for Harry. He might have been able to deal with one… maybe even two, but four…? How could anyone beat that? The four Voldemort's appeared to be furious at each other. Apparently, they did not like the idea of there being more than one of themselves.

"And now… Harry… it's time for you to lose."

"How so?" questioned Harry, feeling like he wanted to tear out all of his hair.

"I shall play… The Dark Mark card!" Ak slammed it down on the table, and Voldemort's symbol, the skull with the snake going through the mouth appeared a foot above the table, spinning around and giving off green smoke. Some of the younger students screamed and squealed at the sight of it.

"What does it do?" demanded Harry nervously.

"Shh!" said Ak. "What and see!"

Harry looked at the table, and saw that the four Voldemorts were looking at the Dark Mark, fascinated with its being there.

"What are they doing?"

"They are performing the Dark Mark's ability," whispered Ak, watching them. "It is only activated when there are four Voldemorts in play."

"But what does it do?" asked Harry again.

"Oh, it deals one thousand damage to you," said Ak as if it were nothing.

"One thousand damage!" yelled Harry.

"Shh!" said Ak again. Now, the four Voldemorts were walking over to the Dark Mark and they spread out around it, making a square if they were connected. Each of them raised their wands to the Mark, and a red beam shot out of each, hitting it. It glowed red, getting darker and darker every second, until it was suck a dark red it was almost black.

Then, suddenly, the Dark Mark exploded. But, this wasn't a normal explosion with gas and smoke, this explosion made skulls, skeletons, spirits, eyes, body parts, everything fly out of the Mark, each thing giving off unearthly screams. Now, the older students joined the younger ones in giving yelps and hiding.

The explosion filled the entire table, and it continued for a while. But, it eventually did clear, and when it did, all of Harry's deck was in the discard pile, and the four Voldemort's had their arms crossed and were smiling.

"I… lost…" said Harry to himself.

"Yes… yes you did," said Ak, grinning.

Just then the crowd around the table burst into applause and cheers. Apparently, they had all loved Ak's spectacular comeback and wanted to show him just how much they liked it, especially since Harry had beaten him last time.

"Hooray for Ak!" they all yelled, patting him on the back and cheering him on. The students gathered around him until the inevitable came, and Ak was lifted on top of all of their shoulders, smiling and cheering along with them. The group of students, with Ak on top as if he had scored the winning touchdown for a football game, marched around the room a few times and then left, leaving Harry all alone, except for his cards… and Ron.

"You played well," said Ron, patting Harry on the back.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," said Harry quickly, taking his deck out of the slot and beginning to feel really terrible. Losing the Dueling Tournament or the Wizard Duel Tournament wasn't so bad if it was only one, but both? Two big losses on top of each other? It was enough to depress even the happiest of men. "I'll beat him next time."

"Sure you will," said Ron, walking his friend out of the deserted room. "It was a great game though, a really spectacular comeback. I mean, no one… no one ever expected him to play that-"

"Okay Ron!" said Harry, putting his hand up in front of Ron's mouth.

"Yeah, sorry," said Ron, clearing his throat and continuing to walk out of the room.

"There you are!" came a very nice voice from just ahead. Harry looked up, and saw Cho in front of them. "I thought you'd never come out of that room! I looked all over for you in that crowd that just came by! But, here you are, so… are you ready to go Harry?"


	13. Chapter 13 Extreme Quidditch

Chapter 13- Extreme Quidditch

Harry looked up at Cho and immediately, his spirits rose. She was the only thing that could truly cheer him up after miserably losing the final match. She alone had the power to make his spirit dance.

"Well…?" she said again, looking ravishing. She looked more like a goddess than a human; she gave off some sort of aura of wonderfulness wherever she went. Tonight, she was wearing a very tight silvery shirt that was encrusted with what appeared to be thousands of little diamonds. Her pants were actually rather plain in comparison to her top; blue bellbottoms with a few flower patches on them, and her hair was not done up in any particular manner, just down and looking long. But, Harry didn't mind at all. For all he cared, she could have worn a paper bag and she still would have been the most beautiful creature on Earth.

"Hello! Earth to Harry!" said Cho, waving her hand on front of Harry's face. Harry quickly shook himself back into the real world, still wondering how someone like her could possible like him.

"Oh yeah, I'm ready to go," said Harry quickly, beaming.

"Excellent," smiled Cho.

"I'll see you later, Ron," said Harry hastily, running up to Cho and blindly waving to his friend.

"Yeah, see you," said Ron back, sprinting off in the direction of what Harry thought was where Ak and his group of new fans went.

"I'll be right back Cho," said Harry. "I just have to change out of my school clothes quickly."

"Alright," she said, her arms crossed. "I'll be right here when you come back."

"I'll be back before you know it," said Harry, running off as fast as he could, all the way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Hey, tough luck there Harry," said Chris when Harry arrived. He and just a few others were there. Except for a few occasions, this was the emptiest Harry had ever seen the Common Room. "Too bad about your game."

"Yeah yeah," said Harry, throwing him off, and sprinting to his dorm room. He quickly tossed of his black school robe, and threw it on his bed. He ran over to the mirror, tidied up his hair to the best of his ability, and went back downstairs. He opened up the door that lead to the rest of the school, and heaved a sigh.

"Oh no, not now!" yelled Harry to himself. He looked in front of him, to the staircases that were usually laid out in some sort of logical pattern. But tonight, they were feeling adventurous, and now… now there was no rhyme or reason to their layout. Some stairs were twisting and turning, looping around others; some were flipped left or right, and others were even totally upside down. "Now how am I going to get back to Cho in time?"

Harry looked around desperately for a staircase that was walkable and found one that headed off in a direction that he had never been to before. Harry ran down it, and arrived at a very old looking and decrepit door. He opened it quickly, and found himself in a dark corridor. But, there was a dim light at the end, and it was the only path that he could take, so Harry ran down it, not having a clue where he was going.

He soon arrived at the end of the tunnel, and it was lit by a single, flickering light bulb that appeared as though it was going to burn out any second. In front of him, there were three tunnels, each with a wooden sign above it.

"Headmaster, Death, and Main Corridor," read Harry. "Well, I don't think I'll take the Death hallway, and Headmaster seems like one for Dumbledore, so I'll take Main Corridor. Maybe that will take me where I want to go."

Harry ran down the slightly brighter tunnel, but not for long, and ended up right where the sign had said: The Main Corridor, where the rest of the hallways in the school spread out from.

"Good, I can find my way from here," said Harry to himself. He looked behind him to see the tunnel that had brought him here, but where he came out, there was now only a wall. "What? I could've sworn that it was here a second ago."

Harry examined the wall, but couldn't find a single opening in it. He put his hand up to the wall, and nearly yelled out in surprise. His hand went right through the solid brick! It was a interesting feeling and sight having your hand move through the wall as if it were made out of liquid.

"I wonder how many of these little passageways there are in this place," said Harry to himself, happy that he had found one of Hogwart's many secrets. "I'll explore it later, got to go see Cho now."

"Absolutely not!" came a very loud voice that made Harry jump. At first, he thought it was from someone who was reading his his mind and telling him not to go. Then, he saw that is was coming from one of the rooms in the hall. Harry crept up next to the one that the voice was coming out of and listened through the slightly opened door.

"Sir," came another voice, much quieter. It sounded very familiar. "You should keep your voice down, a student may hear you."

"Nonsense," came the first voice, slightly quieter this time. This one was also familiar, even more so. "All of them are busy praising the new Ak kid for his victory over Harry."

Just when Harry heard his name said, he immediately knew who that voice belonged to and was surprised he didn't recognize it sooner. It was Dumbledore! But… how did he know Ak had beaten him? He wasn't at the room when the club was meeting.

"But, you still haven't gotten it yet, have you?" came the other voice.

"No," said Dumbledore. "You-Know-Who has evaded me quite well, and I have been unable to get the Item from him. But I will get it eventually."

What was Dumbledore talking about? What did Voldemort have… and why was he referring to him as 'You-Know-Who'? Harry thought that Dumbledore of all people would call Voldemort by his real name.

"So he still has the Legendary Ingredient?"

"I'm afraid so," sighed Dumbledore.

So it was true! Dumbledore was trying to get the Ingredients for the Immortal Potion away from Voldemort so he couldn't make it. But, evidently Voldemort already had one, so the wizarding world was in trouble right now.

"Well…. Yeehaw," said the other voice. Just from that one word, Harry figured out who the other voice was. It was Professor Quirrell. Well, at least he knew for sure now that this Quirrell was definitely on the good side.

"Anyway," said Dumbledore, "we both have lots of work to do, I think we should cut this meeting short and go back to our labors."

"Agreed," said Quirrell. Harry heard them starting to walk out, and began to panic. How could he hide? Then he remembered his Animagus Invisibility Ring! Harry quickly transformed his entire body into the Gryffin, just when the two of them walked out. Harry froze for a second when he saw them exit into the hall, and stand right in front of him. Even though he knew he was invisible, it was still eerie to have them both right there, and not see him. He still felt as though he was going to be caught. Harry held his breath, could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and tried not move at all.

"See you later, Headmaster," said Quirrell.

"Yes, indeed," said Dumbledore. Then, he looked in Harry's direction. "Wait a minute…" Harry's heart was beating a mile a second, Dumbledore was walking right towards him!

"What is that?" he said again, this time looking directly at Harry. He bent over and put out his arm out, extending it right at him. Harry closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable…. He could feel his entire body going cold already, awaiting the impact of Dumbledore's hand on his face.

"Ack!" yelled Dumbledore, peeling something off of the wall and holding it between his fingers. "Bugs on the castle walls! I need to get Filch to clean this place more thoroughly."

Harry breathed the biggest sigh of relief that he had ever done in his life. He opened his eyes and waited until both Dumbledore and Quirrell were out of sight, and then a little while longer, just to be safe, until he finally turned back into his normal form.

"Oh man," said Harry, checking his watch. "I have to get back to Cho!" Harry ran as fast as he could all the way back to where she was waiting for him outside the Wizard Duel Club room.

"There you are!" yelled Cho. "What took you so long?"

"Staircase trouble," panted Harry, out of breath.

"Well, we've got to really hurry now! Let's go!"

"Alright," said Harry when he finally caught his breath, "where are we going tonight?" As soon as these words left his mouth, Harry felt a small pang of guilt. So far, it had been Cho who had been planning all of their little excursions; he had never helped in any way. But, Cho didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, she was smiling.

"Oh… some place I think we'll both enjoy," she said as they reached the doors to exit the school. Harry quickly ran ahead and opened the door for her and presented the way with his arms.

"What are you doing?" asked Cho when she saw Harry.

"Um… holding the door for you," said Harry, getting up from his bent over position.

"Well… don't," said Cho, looking quite serious.

"Uh, why not?" asked Harry, letting the door close behind him.

"Well… err…" stuttered Cho. "Well, I just don't think it's right that you think you have to treat me differently just because we are different… well, you know."

"Yeah," said Harry quickly, not really knowing what to think. Shouldn't he treat her differently? Cho walked forward and opened the door herself, Harry followed behind.

"I thought your game may go late, so I didn't want to rent a broom since I wouldn't know what time to tell him to come," said Cho when they were outside.

"So, how are we going to get there?" asked Harry.

"With our own brooms," said Cho, moving to the side, and revealing Harry's Firebolt and Cho's… Firebolt?

"I didn't know you had a Firebolt too!" said Harry, running towards his broom that was hovering slightly off of the ground.

"Well, I recently came into a large sum of money," smiled Cho, "and I couldn't think of a better way to spend it then on a Firebolt. Now maybe I can keep up with you when we play again."

"Oh, you kept up with me fine last time," said Harry, mounting his broom. "In fact, if it wasn't for Ak's knowledge of the rules, we would've lost."

"Oh Harry…" said Cho, mounting her broom and flying up with him. "You keep putting yourself down, you're even better than you think."

"So where are we going anyways," asked Harry now that they were both in the air.

"Just follow me," said Cho, shooting off far ahead of Harry, her voice trailing.

Harry grinned and flew forward with a massive burst of speed.

"You can't catch me!" giggled Cho, still ahead of him. She was a really good flier, and the Firebolt only enhanced her natural ability. Harry had to catch up to her somehow….

He got an idea. Harry transformed the top of his back into massive Gryffin wings and flapped them madly, easily and quickly overtaking Cho. Once he got right next to her, she gazed at his wings, and then let out a scream.

"AAAHHH!" she yelled. "Harry! What's going on!" She began flying erratically from side to side and she lost her grip.

"Cho!" yelled Harry, spinning around and flying down to her. She was falling faster now, getting closer and closer to the ground… could Harry make it in time? He flew down faster, putting so much energy into making the broom go forward that he felt as though he were running. He could just barely get her now… he had to just think of her as a Snitch!

With this new thought in mind, Harry grabbed onto Cho's shoe and held onto her tightly.

"I've got you!" he yelled down to her.

"Harry!" she yelled to him. "Don't let go!"

"I won't!" yelled Harry back. He gripped his broom now with his legs, and held onto her with both of his hands now. Even though Cho was far from big, she was still not the lightest thing in the world and was getting harder to hold onto. He had to think of something quickly!

"Cho!" Harry yelled down to her. "I'm going to let go!"

"What?" she screamed back. "I told you not to let go! Don't let go!"

"Don't worry…" Harry said back, letting go of one leg.

"No Harry! No!"

"Don't worry," said Harry. "I'll-"

Just then, Harry's grip finally loosened, and he let go of Cho's other leg.

"Harry!" she yelled as she started falling again.

This time, Harry was prepared. He shot down, right passed Cho, and then stopped in midair, just below her. An instant later, Cho fell down, right onto Harry's broom, less than a foot above the ground.

"Harry!" she yelled, brushing her hair back.

"Yeah?"

"Nice catch," she grinned.

"Thanks," said Harry, flying back up next to Cho's hovering broom.

"But, never do it again."

"Sure thing," said Harry, stopping next to her broom, and letting her get onto it.

"But you did scare me with those wings there."

"I thought you knew I was an Animagus," said Harry when they were back on their way. "After all, most of the school does from watching that Quidditch game."

"Well," sighed Cho, "I guess I missed that match, and no one ever told me my boyfriend could become a bird."

"Well, a gryffin actually."

"Even better," grinned Cho.

The two of them flew on at a regular pace, they didn't want any more falling accidents. Most of the way, Cho stared at Harry's wings. Though, he couldn't blame her: they were rather beautiful after all.

"We're almost there," Cho said a few minutes later. Harry looked around to see if he recognized where he was. There were lights and buildings everywhere, but Harry didn't identify anything.

"Where are we?"

"On the outskirts of Hogsmeade," said Cho. "The 'less formal' part of the town…. Oh! There's where we want to be!" Harry looked where Cho pointed, and saw a large circular building that looked like a slightly smaller version of a Muggle stadium.

"What's in there?"

"The greatest game in the world," said Cho looking quite happy.

"Better than Quidditch?" asked Harry, slightly appalled.

"Oh yes," said Cho. "Definitely. Follow me inside, I've got reservations."

"Alright," said Harry, wondering what game could be possibly be better than Quidditch.

Cho did a fancy swerve down towards the ground, and Harry followed. They flew past the buildings and lights, and right above the heads of the mass of people below them, not to mention some other brooms flying by. Harry was amazed that all of this was hidden from the Muggle world. It must have taken some very powerful spells to pull it all off.

After just a few seconds of soaring through the small city, Cho stopped at the entrance of the stadium, and Harry did the same.

"We can keep out brooms here," said Cho, propping hers up against a large wall that had some other brooms on it, though no other Firebolts. Just when the tip of her broom touched the wall, a small hand erupted out of it and grabbed the handle of the broom, holding it securely in place.

"Those aren't real hands, are they?" asked Harry tentatively.

"Oh no," said Cho. "It's just an enchantment, though a very secure one. But come on and put yours up, we've got to get going!"

"Alright," said Harry, letting a hand grab his broom too. "Lead the way!"

Cho led Harry through a massive, semi-oval shaped opening in the side of the stadium. Harry saw that he and Cho were not alone going through, there were hundreds of other people all walking through the door as well, all talking excitedly.

"Where are we going?" asked Harry, trying to follow Cho through the throng of people, none of which he recognized from Hogwarts. All of them looked as though they were eighteen or twenty year olds, previous students, but not quite yet adults. Also, each of them appeared to be punks: varying colors of spiked hair with black jackets and sunglasses. Kind of like more extreme versions of Bill Weasley.

"To our seats," said Cho, grabbing hold of Harry's hand and leading him into the heart of the stadium that was filled with even more people, only slightly more organized into lines before three goblin cashiers. She pulled him along a bit more, passed the goblins, and through another massive, semi-oval shaped door.

The room that Harry entered now was completely different from the previous ones. There were hundreds, of not thousands of small, skinny cylindrical posts with a different colored sphere on top, popping up every few feet that seemed to fill acres of floor. But, the most surprising thing about the room was that there was not a single person in sight.

"What is this room?" Harry asked.

"It's the Portkey Room," said Cho, seeming as though she was looking around for something in particular. "From here, you are taken to your seat by touching the correct sphere."

"Well, which one is ours?"

"This one!" exclaimed Cho, pointing to a golden one that was right up front. "Top notch seats! I've had them reserved for a while, just for this occasion. Touch it with me and we'll be taken there."

Harry and Cho reached their arms out towards the golden sphere and touched it at the same time. Just when they did, Harry felt the usual Portkey Transportation feeling. It was as if there was a hook, just behind his navel, that tugged him into the sphere, a black oblivion forming all around him.

The nothingness lasted for only a second. An instant later, Harry found himself in a small, white room with one entire wall made of glass. Outside of the clear wall, Harry could see the entire playing field. On one side, there were three hoops of varying height, and the same on the other side. The field seemed very familiar….

"Wait a minute, Cho," said Harry. "This is just a Quidditch field."

"Well, not really," she said.

"How so?"

"You'll see," said Cho. "Sit down, Harry." She waved an arm to four large and comfortable looking red chairs that were lined up next to each other. Harry sat down in one, and he could still see the entire field. These really were good seats.

"How much longer until the game starts?" asked Harry, bouncing up and down in his chair, wondering what it was going to be like

"Well, thanks to your delays," said Cho sarcastically, checking her watch, "about… right now!"

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" boomed a voice that was only rivaled in volume by the giants. Even though the actual announcer was nowhere near him, the

sound still blew Harry backwards into his chair. "WELCOME TO THE FIRST MATCH OF THE YEAR IN EXTREME QUIDDITCH!"

"Extreme Quidditch?" asked Harry, his ears ringing already.

"Yeah, it's really cool," said Cho on the edge of her seat.

"PLEASE WELCOME THE VISITING TEAM… THE LONDON LACERATORS!"

The crowd around the playing field burst into a mass of applause and boos as eight players flew out on the field, waving their arms madly and doing fancy midair tricks. Harry noticed that all of their brooms were severely damaged, bandaged up all over with splinters sticking out and cracks everywhere. Each of the players were wearing massive gloves and hockey masks, prevented Harry from seeing their faces. But, through their black and metallic uniforms, Harry could see that their arms were heavily scarred and bruised all over.

"Why are there eight players?" asked Harry, noticing that there was one more than usual.

"Well, there's the normal seven players," said Cho, leaning closer to Harry so he could hear them, "and then there's a Placer. At first, he plays as a mixture of a Chaser and a Beater, but then, when a player dies, he takes over that player's previous position."

"Dies?" gulped Harry.

"Oh yeah," nodded Cho. "In Extreme Quidditch, players do tend to do that. Most teams would like to have three or four Placers, you know, so that they can replace their other teammates after the first one dies."

"Sounds horrid," shuddered Harry.

"It's great," said Cho, turning her attention back towards the field.

"AND NOW… THE HOME TEAM! THE HOGSMEADE HELL-RAISERS!"

Eight more players flew out onto the field, wearing the same gloves and masks and the same quality brooms, only these ones were wearing red uniforms instead of black. Again, the stadium erupted into applause, only adding the already off-the-charts amount of noise that was going on.

"PLAYERS! TO YOUR POSITIONS!" thundered the announcer. The sixteen players shot over to their spots: the Keepers to the goals, the Chasers lined up in front of each other, the Beaters were above them, the Seeker was above them, and then the Placer was out flying around the field, ready for anything. Even though Harry couldn't see their faces, he could tell that the players were spitting and screaming at each other by the fluids pouring out of their masks.

"RELEASE THE BALLS!"

In the middle of the field, a small hole opened up and the Quaffle, then the Bludgers, then the Snitch shot out.

"Well, other than the Placers and the extreme amount of violence, the actual game is not so different than regular Quidditch," observed Harry.

"NOW! SET THE FIELD!"

All of a sudden, dozens of smaller holes appeared in the ground along with another much larger one. Massive flames that went high above the stadium's top poured out of the smaller holes, and a chained down Hungarian Horntail popped out of the larger one, gave an ear shattering roar, and then beginning to spew more flames all around, making the air nothing more than one giant inferno.

"Okay," squeaked Harry, slouching back in his chair from fear, "maybe it is a little different than regular Quidditch."

"READY!…" boomed the announcer. "SET!… GO!

The effect of the announcer's words was instantaneous. All of the players shot off in every direction, though mostly towards each other. Two of the Chasers on the London team immediately went for two Chasers from the Hogsmeade team. They crashed in midair, and there was a fantastic boom and burst of fire. The announcer said something, but even his insanely loud voice was drowned out by the crowd that was now in an ecstatic frenzy.

"AND HOGSMEADE MAKES THE FIRST GOAL! ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY TO ZERO!"

"One hundred and fifty to zero!" exclaimed Harry. "But… they only scored one goal!"

"Yeah, but the rules are a bit different for Extreme Quidditch," explained Cho, looking through the window. "Goals are worth one hundred and fifty points and the Snitch is only worth ten, but it still ends the game."

"Why did they switch the points around?"

"Because if they kept the score for the Snitch the same," continued Cho, "all the players on the opposing teams would instantly go for their opponent's Seekers, and the Placers would be used up almost immediately."

"Oh… ok," said Harry, much happier that he was watching the game rather than playing in it.

Harry made attempts to see where the Quaffle currently was, but between the fire, smoke and dragon breath, it was impossible to see anything, except-

"AAAHHH!" yelled Harry and Cho together. One of the players on the London team had just crashed into their window. His face and hands were pressed up against the glass so hard that blood was coming out. But, he quickly pushed himself off and pulled his mask back down over his face.

"Sorry," he mouthed to the two of them as he flew away, back into the game. The Hungarian Horntail shot a gigantic ball of fire, molten rock and smoke right at him that knocked him out of the sky and then down to the ground. The London Placer quickly took his place, and the dragon gave a smile.

"You know Harry…" said Cho, scooting over closer to him. "You know what all this fire, blood, violence and dragons makes me want to do?"

"What?" asked Harry, scooting in closer as well.

"It makes me want to…" said Cho, closing her eyes. "Kiss you."

Cho moved in for the kill, and her target was Harry's lips. But, this was one attack Harry did not want to avoid. He brought his face a little closer to hers as well. He could feel their heads coming closer and closer together… then their mouths touched.

"Why thank you!" came a voice suddenly.

"That's an odd thing to say," said Cho.

"Uh… I didn't say it," said Harry, wondering what was going on. He opened his eyes and saw in front of him not Cho's face, but a very massive and very round head.

"Ah!" yelled Cho, scurrying back. "What are you doing?" "Getting in on your little love-in," piped the creature, smiling and battering his eyebrows. He looked almost exactly like the kid Harry had to fight at the Wizard Duel

club meeting; big head and small body, only this one's head was even bigger, and his body was even smaller. He had a tiny black jacket on, and what appeared to be extremely small wings popping out of his back.

"What are you doing here?" screamed Cho. "I reserved this box for Harry and me weeks ago!"

"Ahem," squeaked another creature that looked identical to the other that came into view from behind one of the other chairs. "We also reserved this place weeks ago. You can check our tickets." He handed Cho two small pieces of paper and she ripped them out of his tiny hand. After a quick examination, she handed them back to him, looking venomous.

"And after all," said the first one, "there are four chairs here after all!"

"Yeah," sighed Cho, falling back into her chair and crossing her arms. "I suppose so." The two creatures smiled at each other with their enormous mouths and sat down in the two chairs next to Harry.

"I just love… fire," said one of the creatures, conjuring a bag of popcorn.

"And I love Quidditch!" squealed the one that was closest to Harry.

"Will you keep it down?" yelled Harry, putting a finger to his lips.

"Hey!" piped the one that was in the chair next to Harry. "Nice ring!"

"Yeah," said Harry, quickly hiding his hand from sight. But, the creature followed his hand into the cushion of the chair. "Thanks."

"How much you want for it?" interjected the other one immediately, jumping off of his chair and walking in front of Harry. He reached into his pocket, and took out a large sum of money. "I have hundreds of galleons…."

"No," said Harry firmly. "It's not for sale."

"Are you sure?" asked the creature again, grinning and pushing the money further towards Harry's face so far that it was in danger of going up his nose.

"Yes," said Harry sternly, pushing the money back.

"Why not?" asked the other one curiously.

"It's a… family heirloom," said Harry quickly. "It has great sentimental value."

The creatures eyed him inquisitively with their massive eyes for a second. Then, the one that had been offering him money put it all away, shrugged, and walked back to his seat, talking quietly with his friend.

"Is that really an heirloom?" Cho asked Harry.

"I don't know," shrugged Harry back. "For all I know, it could very well be."

"What, did you buy it?"

"Yeah."

"Cool," said Cho. "You'll have to take me to the shop sometime. It's a really nice ring, maybe they have more of them."

"Maybe," sighed Harry, highly doubting that there would be another like his anywhere.

"AND LOOK AT THAT DRAGON GO!" continued the announcer. "THAT'S THREE GUYS HE'S TAKEN DOWN TODAY!"

Harry returned to watching the game that now had several less people playing in it than before. Harry tried to make out some of the players on the field, but it was even harder now than before, since there were fewer of them and they were more spread out, except for the ones that were engaged in individual fights.

"OH NO! AND THE HOGSMEADE SEEKER IS DOWN!…. WAIT A MINUTE! NO! HE WAS JUST GOING DOWN TO GET THE SNITCH! HOGSMEADE WINS ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TO ZERO!"

The announcer said something else, but it was quickly drowned out by the roaring crowd. Amidst the lowering flames and the leaving dragon, fans from the stands leapt out of their seats and down onto the field, congratulating their team by suffocating them with their bodies.

"Well that was a short game," said the little person next to Harry, sounding a little annoyed and disappointed.

"Yeah, too bad," said Cho mockingly. "Why don't you two leave now… go on! Shoo!" She waved her arms furiously in the direction of the Portkey that brought them there.

"Nah," said the one father away. "We're going to stay here for a while, until the crowd calms down and we won't get hurt if we try to leave."

"Great," sighed Cho. She leaned in closer to Harry and whispered, "Now we'll never get any time together."

"Why don't we just go somewhere else?" whispered Harry back, looking at the two little things run face-first into the window and then drop to the floor giggling.

"No, most of the places are closed by now, and the ones that are open are just low-life taverns."

"How about we go back to Hogwarts, then?" suggested Harry. "Maybe, if we're lucky, no one's out in the halls now. But, if there are some, we could just do this some other time."

"Sounds better than nothing," groaned Cho, standing up. She turned to the two little creatures. "Boys… it has been a pleasure, but I'm afraid we have to go now. See you later."

"Bye bye!" they called back, banging their massive heads on the window.

"Freaks," muttered Harry as he walked over to the Portkey with Cho. They touched the sphere together and were brought back to the same, giant room that had all the transports to the seats in it. Harry expected to see many people leaving now, but there was not a person in sight.

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked as they started walking out.

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't everyone leaving now?" continued Harry as they passed the goblin cashiers, two of which were asleep. "I mean, the game's over."

"Nah," said Cho, shaking her head. "Now, the fun's just starting. The crowd will party with the winning team for hours."

"So why aren't we down there?"

Cho looked at him.

"Trust me… you don't want to be there."

"Cho," asked Harry when they exited the stadium through the huge open space, "how do you know so much about this Extreme Quidditch? Have you come to these games before?"

"Only once," she said, "to test it out. My friends, however, have been coming for a few months now."

"Do they like it?"

"Well, they more like the fact that prisoners are getting their just punishments."

"What?' asked Harry, confused. "What does Extreme Quidditch have to do with prisoners?"

Cho stopped in her tracks.

"It has everything to do with prisoners!" she exclaimed. "Who do you think those people are playing on the teams?"

"Crazy people?" shrugged Harry.

"No. They're all prisoners," said Cho. "Ever since Azkaban was destroyed, the Ministry has been trying to find out new ways to punish criminals. It wasn't until Dumbledore suggested Extreme Quidditch that there has been a real good solution."

"Dumbledore suggested it!" yelled Harry.

"Oh yeah," said Cho. "It's an ingenious thought, really. It punishes prisoners by making practically putting them on death row every game, it gives entertainment to the people, and it brings in revenue for the Wizarding Government."

"So Extreme Quidditch is still relatively new?" asked Harry, continuing to walk.

"Well, its only been around since the beginning of summer, so yes, I guess that constitutes as new."

They had finally arrived outside the stadium and were at the wall were they hung up their brooms. Cho reached up and took hers down quite easily. As soon as she touched her broom, the hand holding onto it let go immediately.

"Go on," she said, mounting her broom. "Get yours now."

"Alright," said Harry, reaching up to his. He grabbed onto the tip of the broom and tried to bring it down. But, no matter how hard he tried to pull the broom off of the wall, the hand would simply not let go.

"Err…. Get down!" yelled Harry, trying to tear it off of the wall now. He was shaking the broom furiously, almost in danger of breaking it. However, the hand was not budging a bit.

"What's wrong?" asked Cho, flying up a little

"My… broom… won't… come off!" yelled Harry, still trying.

"Oh come on," grinned Cho. "It's not that hard."

"Yes… it… is! It just won't-"

Suddenly, Harry heard a very high pitched shriek ring out around Harry and Cho. He quickly let go of the broom, and looked around.

"What was that?" asked Cho, landing back on the ground.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly, taking out his wand.

The shriek raised its ugly head again and Harry covered his ears. This time, it sounded much closer and was followed by a softer sound, like a cat landing on the ground.

"I think someone's here," whispered Harry, looking all around.

"Oh no…" said Cho, sounding nervous.

Once again, the shriek rang out and it was as if it came from right behind Harry. He quickly turned around, and behind him he saw one of the little people that was in the box with him and Cho. They were the ones making the sound.

"Ack! Not you!" yelled Harry, putting his wand away and covering his ears. "Stop making that noise!"

"I'm trying!" she replied. "But this one isn't letting me go!" Harry looked over and saw that she was being pinned down by the other little person that shared their box. He had also taken his mask off, but Harry didn't recognize who he really was.

"What do you want, Wormtail?" asked Harry through gritted teeth.

"You know what I want," he said, making the rest of his body grow back to its normal size. "I want your Ring! Well, actually, I don't want it… my master does, for another one of his beautiful plans. Remember, Harry, in the stands I offered you money for it, but you declined. Now, I'm afraid I'll just have to take it."

The creature gave a smile, but this time, its mouth was filled with sharp fangs rather than normal teeth. It spread out its arms and flew right at Harry, utilizing its wings. The thing was much stronger than it looked; it pushed Harry over right on the ground and pinned him there.

"What are you doing?" yelled Harry, fumbling for his wand.

"What…? Don't you recognize me Harry?" grinned the creature. It put one of its tiny arms up to its face and then… pulled it right off, as if it were a mask. But, once Harry saw what was under the mask, the fact that he had worn a mask before didn't matter. He tried to yell for help, but all he could do was say the name of the person whose face he saw.

"Wormtail…"


	14. Suprises

Chapter 14- Surprises

"That's right Harry!" yelled Wormtail. It was an eerie sight. The thing had Wormtail's head, but the tiniest body in the world, not to mention fairy-like wings. Even though it was subduing Harry at the moment, he still had to try hard not to laugh. But, despite its comical look, Harry still had to do something.

"Cho!" Harry yelled. "Fly away and get help!"

"Oh yeah," said Harry. "What are you going to do? You can't hurt me… remember? I saved your life. Any spell you use on me will just be reflected back onto you."

To this, Wormtail just grinned.

"Yes, that is true," said Wormtail, reaching into his pocket for something. "But, that shield can only protect you from magic. There's nothing preventing me from using Muggle tools against you." From his pocket, he took out a small dagger.

"Fine! Fine!" said Harry, trying to quickly make a plan in his mind. "I'll give you the Ring, but leave Cho alone!"

"Hmm…" thought Wormtail. "I think… not."

"What?" yelled Harry, his plan suddenly being flushed down the drain. Wormtail grabbed hold of Harry's hand, the one with the rings on it.

"I think I'll keep the girl… and just cut the ring off!"

"NO!"

Wormtail brought the knife back to get some momentum on it and then brought it forward, aiming right for Harry's finger.

An instant before the cold, sharp metal came in contact with Harry's flesh, he did the only thing he could think off. Harry did the fastest Gryffin transformation he ever did in his life. Wormtail missed his now invisible paw.

With his increased Gryffin strength, Harry flipped Wormtail over onto the hard pavement. He ran over to Cho who was still pinned on the ground by the now fully grown Death Eater. Harry head-butted him off of her and threw her onto his own back.

"Cho!" Harry yelled, quickly transforming his head into his normal form. "Hit the hand holding my broom with some sort of spell and get it off! Wormtail must have enchanted it or something!" "Alright," she said, looking a little shaken. She took her wand out and aimed it at the hand holding onto Harry's broom. "Sirus!"

There was a small explosion on the wall, and when the smoke cleared, the hand was severely damaged, more than enough for Harry to easily pluck his broom off of it. Harry transformed his head back into the gryffin form, and flew high into the air, well out of the way of the magical beams that Wormtail and his cohort were shooting at them.

"Here, you can get on your broom now," said Harry after they had been flying for a little while, only transforming his mouth this time.

"No," said Cho, breathing deeply. "I think I'd rather just ride you home the rest of the way."

She put her arms around his mane, and gripped tightly.

Even though Cho couldn't tell through Harry's transformed gryffin mouth, he had the biggest smile on his face that he had ever had in his life.

"I really had fun tonight, Harry," said Cho once they reached Hogwarts. Harry had purposely taken a longer route back to the castle, with the hopes of having an empty castle to themselves. But, with the later curfew instituted my Dumbledore, children were crawling throughout the halls everywhere. The two of them didn't want to take too much of a risk, so they decided to call it a night. They stopped at the hallways coming out of the Great Hall that led to the four houses' common rooms.

"Even though falling off the broom wasn't too hot, those two idiots taking our room, and then that whole attacking thing at the end totally wrecked it," continued Cho, "flying home on you made up for it."

"Any time," smiled Harry.

"Let's try to do this again sometime… that is, without all the bad parts," said Cho as she bent down a little and gave Harry a kiss.

"I think that's a great idea," grinned Harry.

"See you later," said Cho, walking back to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"See you," said Harry waving good-bye. After she walked out of sight, Harry did a few spins out of pure happiness and then started on his way back to the Gryffindor Room.

As he was walking, thoughts were buzzing in Harry's mind. All that he had seen, heard and experienced this night was coming back to him. Dumbledore confirming Harry's suspicions that Voldemort was after the Ingredients for the Immortal Potion, Cho, the Extreme Quidditch match, Cho, Dumbledore establishing a very violent method for exterminating criminals, Cho, and Wormtail attacking him and demanding the Ring, and last but definitely not least, Cho… again.

So… Voldemort was taking more desperate measures to get Harry's Ring. He wasn't just coming into his dreams anymore, now he was all out attacking him in a public place. Harry had to be careful, especially when field trip time came around.

"Speaking of which," said Harry to himself when he had reached the door to the common room. "The field trip's not too far away now… only about two months…. Wizard Duel." The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open after hearing the password that Harry had insisted upon. When he walked in, he saw that Ron and Hermione, along with only about one or two others, were the only ones still up. They were sitting in the two massive chairs that were before the fire, but Harry noticed that the chairs were pushed closer together now than they usually were.

"Hey there you two," called Harry to them when he walked in.

"Oh, hello Harry," said Ron back, turning around. "You're back kind of quick. Did you have a fun night?"

"Oh…nothing too out of the ordinary," said Harry back, pulling up a chair next to them. "A little Quidditch match, a lot of fire, and even a cameo appearance by Wormtail. Yeah, it was fun."

"Wormtail was there?" said Hermione concernedly.

"Yeah, him and another Death Eater," said Harry, sitting down. "They were disguised as little fairly-like creatures with big heads."

"What were they doing there?" asked Ron.

"What do you think?" said Harry sarcastically, holding up his hand and pointing to his skull ring. "They want this… or at least, Voldemort does."

"So he does know about the Ring… not good," said Hermione.

"Yeah, but that's not all he knows about," sighed Harry.

"Why, what else does he know?"

"Well," said Harry, scooting in even closer to them and checking around to make sure that the others in the room were nowhere near hearing distance of the three of them. "When I was walking back from my room to meet Cho, I accidentally found myself in

this part of the castle that I'd never seen before. From there, I managed to get out into the main hallway and I heard Dumbledore talking to Quirrell."

"Quirrell?" asked Ron, scrunching his face a little.

"Yeah, Quirrell," continued Harry. "Anyway, Dumbledore said to him that Voldemort already has one of the Ingredients, and he's failed to get it from him."

"He said Voldemort's got one?" exclaimed Hermione.

"Yeah," said Harry, remembering that Dumbledore referred to Voldemort as You-Know-Who and not by his real name.

"Well," said Hermione, trying to find something to be cheerful about, "he's only got one. I have one too, the Bracelet; and Dumbledore has the other, the Watch; and Professor McGonagall has the Sorcerer's Stone; and you, Harry, have the Ring. So, as long as things stay the same as they are now, we're in no trouble."

"Yeah… if things stay the way they are," sighed Ron.

"Oh come on Ron!" said Hermione, hitting him on the arm. "Try and look on the bright side of life."

"Anyway," said Harry, trying to follow Hermione's advice and change the subject, "what are you two doing down here anyway?"

To this, Hermione and Ron looked at each other and grinned.

"Oh Harry…" said Hermione. "You know we'd never pass up a chance to hear how it went with you and Cho."

The weeks went by, and the excitement for the field trip was building to almost the point of explosion. All that anyone was talking about, except for the first years of course, was the trip. Even Harry, Malfoy, Ron, and Hermione were drawn into a few conversations. From these, they figured out that it would actually be a very exciting time. Students would form groups of five, and along with a guide, they could go anywhere they wanted inside the pyramid. In fact, the only bad part about the trip was that it started the day after Christmas. Even though this didn't affect Harry too much, students that would like to see their families over the winter holidays were a little hurt. But, their pain was short-lived. Once they remembered why they would not be seeing their families this holiday, they practically forgot all about them.

Despite all of this excitement, December twenty-fifth rolled around, much faster than Harry expected it to. As usual, and it was practically a tradition now, Harry was awoken by a forcefully thrown present from Ron, right on his face.

"Arg!" groaned Harry from the impact. This year, he had perfected his aim and had hit Harry's face with a corner of the box. "Stop doing that!"

"Sorry," said Ron, not very apologetically. "Force of habit."

Harry sat up and pulled his glasses on over his face, letting the world come into focus around him. He saw that Ron was at the end of his bed, piling his presents up in one massive stack. Seamus and Dean were getting right down to the point and tearing the paper off of their gifts, revealing the goodies hidden within. Harry looked down at Neville's bed and was unsurprised to see that he wasn't there, and neither were his presents. He was probably spending his Christmas with Voldemort…. In fact, that's probably where he had spent the nights for the past two months, no one had seen him anywhere but classes since the last Dueling Club meeting.

"Come on Harry!" yelled Ron again, making his gigantic stack of piles float in the air in front of him as he walked behind them. "Hermione wants us to open them together… again."

"Yeah, that's so bad," said Harry, climbing out of bed and waddling over to his gifts. He gave a big yawn and put the same spell on his that Ron did to the presents he got. He magically lifted them up, too tired to carry them manually. He followed Ron downstairs to the common room which was filled with students, all taking part in the holiday cheer.

"Hey Harry!" called Mike, swinging a massive mug of Butterbeer from side to side, looking almost intoxicated. "Come and join our fun!" He waved his arm in the direction of Akshay, Joe and Chris, each of whom was doing the same, only their arms were around each other's necks, and they were swaying from side to side, each drunkenly singing a different song.

"No, that's okay," said Harry, squinting an eye.

"I didn't think that stuff was so strong," said Ron, looking over in their direction.

"For some… I guess it is."

The two of them walked over to the same corner that they went to last year, with Hermione already there, with her small pile of presents too.

"What took you so long?" she demanded.

"Harry slept in again," said Ron, setting his pile down and walking over to her. "Like usual."

"Hey, it's not my fault you take so long to wake me up," grinned Harry, sitting down next to them with his stack nearby.

"Yeah yeah, sure," Ron said, already working on his first gift, along with Hermione who was furiously opening hers.

Harry went along with the crowd and started on his presents. He opened the first one, the usual: a cake from Mrs. Weasley, along with a new sweater for him that was just his size. There were a few other things from Mrs. Figg, Hagrid, Sirius, and even Lupin this time. But, the one Harry was most looking forward to opening was the one from Fred and George.

"I've never gotten a present from just the two of them before," said Harry, holding the gift up to his ear and shaking it.

"Well, they've never had anything to really give before now," said Ron, looking over his pile of wrappings and empty boxes to see if there was anything else left to be opened.

Harry set the present down and grabbed the ribbon. He pulled it off, and the gift opened itself, like another one of their magical toys. Once it was fully open, a note shot up right at Harry's face. He grabbed it and read it to himself:

Dear Harry,

We know how much you love these things, and you're not alone. These packs of cards are still the fastest selling and hottest items at our store. We would have given you more, but at the time when we sent the present, there weren't many of them left. Don't worry, though, we'll make up for it soon.

See you later,

Fred and George

"Hmm…" said Harry sarcastically to himself. "I wonder what it could be now?" He opened the small box, tore past the next layer of packaging and revealed his present.

"What is it?" asked Ron, peering over.

"Wizard Duel card packs!" grinned Harry, picking up the four packages and showing them to Ron.

"Only four packages?" said Ron.

"Yeah, well, it's four more than I would have normally gotten," said Harry, setting three of them down so he could begin by opening one of them. He pulled the thin, shiny paper apart, and started shuffling through the cards inside, to get to the end quickly and see what his rare one would be. When Harry saw what it was, he dropped the other cards in the pack on the floor, and his mouth fell open.

"What!" yelled Ron, seeing Harry's expression. "What did you get?"

"I got…" gasped Harry, turning the card around so they could see it. "I got… Dumbledore!"

"Dumbledore!" exclaimed Ron and Hermione. Ron quickly grabbed it out of Harry's hand and looked at it with an awestruck expression on his face.

"Wow!" he said, reading it over. "This thing is even better than Voldemort… and its even rarer too!"

"Well I would certainly hope so," said Hermione, trying her best not to look interested. Harry grabbed the card out of Ron's hand and looked at it. It showed Dumbledore in a very interesting situation: he was in a long and flowing blue robe and was dancing around, making it billow out every now and then. Like Voldemort's card, this one was also holographic; the image was popping out of the card.

"Well… aren't you going to open your other packs?" asked Hermione after Harry spent the next several seconds drooling over his new card.

"What…? Oh! Yeah!" Harry quickly shoved his Dumbledore card into his deck, and grabbed one of his other packs. He tore the packaging right off and looked through them until he got to the rare one.

"Oh… my… god…" whispered Harry.

"What?" asked Ron.

"Look at this!" yelled Harry, showing him the card.

"Another Dumbledore!" yelled Ron, looking as if he was an a state of disbelief.

"Wow Harry," said Hermione. "I don't know much about the game, but I'd say the odds of getting two Dumbledores is pretty high."

"Yeah, come one Harry," said Ron. "Open your next pack! Who knows… maybe you'll get another Dumbledore."

"Yeah right," said Harry, still in a state of shock as he put his next Dumbledore into his deck and opened his next pack. "Imagine if I did get another-" Harry stopped. He got to the rare card in his pack and could have fainted right there.

"Another Dumbledore?" sighed Ron.

"Yeah," gasped Harry, showing it to them.

Ron grunted.

"Man, I can't believe you!"

Harry quickly opened his last pack and just threw all the non-rare cards in the air, to get to it faster. As expected, there was another dancing Dumbledore, right there before him. Harry quickly turned it to show his two friends, and then collapsed on the floor.

"Geez Harry," said Ron, crawling over to him. "First you're made Prefect, then you're Gryffindor Quidditch team captain, then you're the Dueling Club captain and champion, then you get Cho, then you get a near perfect O.W.L score, and now… now you have four Dumbledores."

"Yeah," said Harry, thinking just how lucky he really was. "But… I didn't beat Ak at the Wizard Duel club."

Ron shook his head and snapped his fingers.

"Well, I guess you're just a failure," he grinned.

"Yeah, I am really pathetic," smiled Harry, sitting up and putting his last two new cards into his deck.

"Come on you two," said Hermione. "We should get packed up a little… we are leaving tomorrow after all."

After a few more laughs on how bad Harry was at everything, the three of them cleaned up their massive mess and trudged back to their rooms, where they packed their bags in preparation of the trip.

Harry, along with most of the rest of the school, didn't get much sleep that night. Even after the lights went out, it still took several hours for him to finally fall asleep, and when he did he might as well not have seeing as he woke up only a few minutes later.

This time, Harry didn't want to be woken up by Ron's shakings, so he set a magical alarm for the first time in his life. Harry set it so that only he could hear it, and woke up before anyone else. He grabbed the small trunk that he had packed the day before and walked downstairs when the sun was just beginning to rise outside. Harry took a moment to look at the beautiful sight, and when he turned around to peer out the glass, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and sighed when he saw who it was.

"Good morning Dobby," he groaned.

"Sir!" he piped. "This is your last chance! You is must leaving with me now!"

"No Dobby!" yelled Harry, loudly enough to scare Dobby a little, but quietly enough so that he wouldn't wake anyone else up. "I am going on the field trip and nothing bad is going to happen!"

"Please sir! If-"

"NO!" yelled Harry, much louder this time. "No. Please… just let me go."

"Oh sir…" he sighed. "You is going to be wishing you had not gone…."

"Don't count on it Dobby," said Harry, picking up his trunk again and leaving the common room. "I'll see you in a few days."

"I is doubting it," he squeaked a moment before he disappeared.

Harry walked all the way down to the Great Hall, keeping a close eye out for Dobby the whole time. When he arrived down in the room, Harry was surprised by seeing a few others down there, including Joe.

"What are you doing down here so early?" Harry asked, sitting down.

"Meh couldn't sleep," he groaned, leaning one side of his face on his hand. "Too excited."

"I know what you mean," said Harry, lying back in his chair and trying to work in a few minutes of rest before they left. But, his moment of peace didn't last very long. Just a little while later, the rest of the school came pouring down into the room.

"Hey!" called Ron when he and Hermione arrived down. "You're up before me for once!"

"First time for everything," yawned Harry, getting himself up from his little nap.

"How much longer until we go?" asked Ron, sitting down and checking his watch.

"It should only be a few minutes now," said Hermione. "Dumbledore is supposed to make an announcement-"

"Hello students!" Dumbledore suddenly spoke. "Hello! Good morning to you all. Are you ready for a field trip?"

"YEAH!" everyone yelled. Harry looked around and saw that now, all the second years and above were in the room. That place sure filled up quickly when people were excited.

"Well…" he continued, sounding a little less enthusiastic. "I have a very big surprise for you all then."

"What is it?" screamed Joe and Mike together, still acting a little drunk from the Butterbeer.

"Well… you see, I'm afraid the trip has been cancelled."


	15. Hufflepuffs' new seeker

Chapter 15- Hufflepuff's New Seeker

At first, the Hall seemed to be in a state of shock. Everyone was just staring at Dumbledore, as if waiting for him to change his announcement, and say that he was only joking, and the trip was still on. But… no such statement came.

"WHAT?" yelled Chris suddenly, breaking the silence. The Great Hall filled with very loud chatter, and everyone saying pretty much the same thing.

"What does he mean the trip's off?

"How can he do that?"

"Can he do that?"

"Now I won't see any pyramids…."

"Please… please…" continued Dumbledore, putting his arms out and barely beginning to cease the talk. "I apologize profusely for the lateness of this announcement, but I would not have cancelled the trip if it was not for extreme circumstances. I have to say, that if we left for this trip now, there is little chance that any of you would come back alive."

That shut up the chatter. Everyone trusted his word, and if he said they were in danger, then they were all definitely in danger. There was no room for argument.

"However," said Dumbledore, now putting a single finger up, "while the trip is cancelled now, it may only be postponed for later. As of now, the field trip is scheduled for late May. I ask you all to return here at that time in the same position you are now, and please, no revolts. So, now, would you please all check the schedule for the next week as you will be here now, and not away. I thank you all for your cooperation."

And with that, Dumbledore walked down from his giant chair without saying another word. As soon as he got down from the podium, the mass of students in the room burst into a giant group of talking once again. This time, though, Harry was a part of it.

"I think I'm going to go talk to Dumbledore about this," he said to Ron and Hermione quickly as he sat up, barely hearable above the rest of the conversations. "So I can see what's behind this cancellation."

"I'm coming too!" said Ron, jumping up.

"Me too!" called Hermione.

"Alright," said Harry quietly. "I have the Invisibility Ring, and Ron can transform into the chameleon. But Hermione…" Harry dug into his packed trunk and grabbed the Invisibility Cloak out, throwing it to her. "You have to wear this."

She nodded, and the three of them ran past the rest of the students, some of which were already leaving back to their common rooms, wearing dismal and disappointed expressions. Harry, Ron and Hermione forced their way through some of the kids and eventually caught up to Dumbledore who was quickly gliding along the floor down a hall.

"Dumbledore!" yelled Harry, jumping over another short student to get to him.

"Yes?" he asked, turning around and sounding rushed.

"Well… I was- that is…" stumbled Harry. "What's going on with the trip?"

"Ah yes," sighed Dumbledore. "Well, you heard my announcement, didn't you? Something bad came up, and we had to cancel it."

"The cancellation… it didn't have anything to do with a house elf named Dobby, did it?" asked Harry, hoping that it wasn't his fault the trip was off.

"Dobby?" inquired Dumbledore. "No… he had nothing to do with it. Should he?"

"No, not at all," said Harry, quickly throwing off that subject. "But, what was it exactly that made you call off the trip so suddenly?"

"Harry…" said Dumbledore, sounding almost a little weak. "As much as I trust and adore you, I am afraid that I cannot tell you, and I hope that you will respect that decision."

"Yes, of course," said Harry, covering himself up from the cold and feeling a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten more information.

"Now, I'm afraid I must be off, Harry," said Dumbledore quickly, turning around. "The two of us have business that we must attend to."

"We do?" stumbled Harry, turning around and seeing that Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen, just as they should be. "I mean- I do?"

"Oh yes," he continued, not turning around, and putting an arm in the air. "I have a very important meeting to go to, and you have a very important Quidditch match. The new schedule says so."

"Thanks you for telling me, professor," said Harry. But, Dumbledore must have not heard him. He didn't turn around and just kept walking. Then, he said to himself, "But… I think your meeting is more important than my match. Come on guys… let's follow him."

"Alright," said Ron and Hermione together.

Harry grinned and made sure his Animagus Invisibility Ring was on securely. He brought it up a little higher on his finger and then quickly transformed into the gryffin, though no one, not even Ron or Hermione, saw him do it. He slowly walked behind Dumbledore, trying not to breathe, hoping that Ron and Hermione were still with him. As unhurried as Harry thought he was going, he was unused to the Gryffin's walking speed, which was quite fast and quickly caught up with Dumbledore. He followed him into a classroom and quickly hid in a corner when he shut the door.

"Are you guys in the room?" Harry called out telepathically to Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah," they both said.

"Right next to you," added Hermione.

"Alright, follow me."

Once the three of them were safe and secure, Harry took a look around, to see who else was in the room. He was surprised to see that, along with Dumbledore, every teacher in the school was in there. They were all sitting around a large, circular table, and they all had the same, bored expression on their faces.

"What is it Dumbledore?" asked an annoyed looking Quirrell.

"Yes," said Flitwick, "some of us were especially looking forward to our chaperoning positions."

"On the contrary," interjected Snape, "some of us were not…."

"I will answer all of your questions," said Dumbledore, sitting down and putting his hands in the air. "First of all… I am sorry to you all as well. I would not have stopped the trip if it was not completely necessary."

"But what was this thing that happened that made it completely necessary?" demanded Quirrell.

"I think we all know the answer to that," said Dumbledore, looking around. "Voldemort was spotted around the pyramid, obviously expecting us. Who knows what he had in mind."

"So you think he would have dared to attack us?" asked Flitwick.

"Even with you there?" said McGonagall.

"I believe," said Dumbledore, "that Voldemort is desperate enough to attack even me. Though, I fear, that will no longer be an overstatement, as he is becoming more and more powerful by the day."

For a few moments, no one spoke. There was nothing anyone could really say in response to that.

"I can't take it anymore!" yelled Professor McGonagall suddenly, slamming her fist on the table.

"What is it Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.

"Oh, Albus," she sighed. "I should have given this to you long ago." Amidst the eyes of everyone, she reached into her pocket, and took out the Sorcerer's Stone. "At first, I wasn't sure… but now, with all that's going on, I know that you should be the one to protect it and not me."

"Minerva…" gasped Dumbledore, in shock of seeing the Stone right there before him on the table. All the other teachers were staring it as well, practically drooling over it. "How did you… get this?"

"Did you make it?" asked Flitwick, moving in for a closer look.

"Oh, no," sighed McGonagall. "This is Perenelle Flamel's Stone."

"Perenelle Flamel?" inquired Dumbledore, picking up the Stone an examining it. "How did you ever get it from her?"

"Well, I didn't get it directly from her. I got it from… Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" exclaimed almost everyone in the room. Harry had to try hard not to say anything, especially 'here' or 'present'.

"How on Earth did he get it?" asked Flitwick.

"In Perenelle's will," continued McGonagall, "it said to give the Stone to whoever bother to show up at the funeral. Harry and his cousin were the only ones who came, so they got it, and then he gave it to me for safekeeping."

"And now you're giving it to me…" said Dumbledore, setting it down on the table.

"Yes."

"Well… I thank you for doing so," said Dumbledore, putting the Stone into his pocket.. "I can assure you, it is safe with me." He patted his pocket he put it in and stood up. "Now that you all know what is going on, I will ask you to leave, so we can all get back to business that I'm sure we all have to do."

With that, the rest of the teachers stood up, gazing transfixedly at Dumbledore's pocket, wanting to get one last glimpse of the Stone. Once they realized their efforts were in vain, they left quickly and the room was empty, except for Dumbledore and Quirrell.

"I can't believe Harry Potter had the Sorcerer's Stone," whispered Quirrell, walking closer to Dumbledore.

"I know…" said Dumbledore, taking the Stone out of his pocket and examining it again. Quirrell came in even closer to look at it. "Not good at all…."

Why wasn't that good? Harry thought. He knew that he should have told Dumbledore or McGonagall immediately after he got it, but was it really so bad that he waited?

"Now," said Quirrell, "please tell me, Dumbledore. What is the real reason you cancelled the trip?" To this, Dumbledore grinned and returned the Sorcerer's Stone back to his pocket.

"I think that I have found it on my own."

"What's he talking about?" asked Ron telepathically.

"Shh!" yelled Hermione. "Don't talk! Who knows, he may still be able to hear you."

"Yeah yeah, alright."

"You mean you've found it, without the help?" asked Quirrell, sounding amazed.

"Yes," said Dumbledore, looking around in a suspicious manner. "But I'm afraid we may have to continue this conversation at a later time and place."

Quirrell eyed him dubiously, and then an expression of understanding appeared.

"Oh… okay," he sighed, sounding as if he wanted to hear more. "See you later."

"Yes, goodbye," said Dumbledore, walking out of the room quickly, almost immediately followed by Quirrell who took one last look around before exiting. Once the coast was clear, Ron and Harry transformed back, and Hermione took the cloak off.

"Nice going, Ron!" she yelled, jabbing him in the side with her elbow.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What did I do?"

"Dumbledore heard you talking," said Harry, getting off his arms and knees and standing up. "He must have sensed it somehow."

"How do you know that's the reason he left?"

"Oh yeah, it just so happens that everything was going fine until you said something," said Hermione sarcastically, crossing her arms.

"Oh… yeah."

"It's okay, Hermione," said Harry, opening the door. "We'll find out more later."

"I hope so," she pouted, exiting with him.

"But I still wonder-" said Harry, just before he was cut off by a screaming and running Ak.

"Harry! Ron!" he yelled at them, broom in hand and his Quidditch robes on. "Where the heck have you been? The game is going to start any second!"

"Oh yeah," said Harry, looking at his watch and remembering that their match had been moved ahead. "See you later Hermione!"

"I'll watch you in the stands!" she yelled to them as they sprinted away with Ak.

"Where have you two been?" he asked Ron and Harry again as they were running.

"What house are we playing?" asked Harry, changing the subject.

"Hufflepuff," said Ak when they arrived at the Gryffindor changing room.

"Oh come on!" said Ron, changing into his robes. "Why'd you have to call us down when we're playing THEM?"

"They're not easy enough that we don't need a Seeker and a Keeper," said Ak, his arms on his sides.

"That's debatable," mumbled Harry, pulling off his socks.

"Anyways," said Ak, sitting down on a bench. "I'll tell you guys first since you're two of the most avid members. The Wizard Duel Club won't be meeting anymore, at least until the end of the year."

"What?" yelled Ron and Harry together, almost falling over.

"It's a protest against the cancellation of the trip," said Ak. "It's the best thing we could think of."

"But canceling the club won't bring back the trip!" yelled Ron, almost in tears.

"I'm sorry Ron," sighed Ak, "but it's just something we've got to do."

"Heh, it's too bad you had to cancel it now," snickered Harry. "Especially since I was really going to cream you the next time we played."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, me and Harry will still play it every day!" said Ron, continuing to change. "Aren't we Harry?"

"Definitely," he said, putting the last few finishing touched on his Quidditch robes. "There we go! All set!"

"Me too!" said Ron quickly after.

"Uh… Ron?" said Harry.

"Yeah?"

"Tell me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked, underwear is supposed to be worn underneath your pants."

"Not today!"

"Alright, whatever…" said Harry, grabbing his broom.

"Excellent time!" said Ak, walking out with the two of them. "We have three seconds to spare!" He threw open the doors that led to the Quidditch field and the rest of the team was there waiting, all lined up.

"Where have you been?" demanded Mike. "I could have learned another thousand or so Kanji while I was waiting if I'd known you were going to take so long."

"Yeah," snapped Akshay. "You guys took longer to get here than downloading a terabyte-size file off of a 3KB bandwidth server with a 28.8KBPS modem!"

"HEY!" yelled Joe suddenly. "You wear your underwear on the outside too! ROCK ON!" He jumped up and gave Ron a high five. Harry just groaned.

"Yeah, you know it's cool," said Chris, showing off his backwards pants as well.

"Maybe I should have chosen the losing team at the tryout instead," moaned Harry to himself as the beginning announcements for the game began.

"And now let's welcome the Gryffindor team!" yelled Blaise Zabini, though not nearly as loud as the Extreme Quidditch commentator had. In fact, compared to that announcer's voice, Blaise's was as soft and quiet as a pillow or a fluffy bunny.

"Well, that's our cue! Good luck team!" said Harry as he and his teammates flew out onto the field, getting into their positions. Harry soared down to the middle, to shake hands with the Hufflepuff team's captain.

"Hello again Justin," said Harry, offering his arm. "Lovely day for a game, isn't it?"

"Don't get cocky this time," grinned Justin, shaking Harry's hand. "Now our team is better than ever. We've even got a new Seeker."

"Oh? Is he better than you were?"

"Much," said Justin, releasing Harry's hand. "He'll crush you."

"Heh, who is it?" asked Harry, getting ready to fly away. "Ernie Macmillan?"

"Well… it isn't not Ernie," said Justin flying back.

"Ernie!" yelled Harry, nearly falling off of his broom. "Hah! What a joke!"

"Teams!" yelled Madam Hooch suddenly, cutting off Harry and Justin's 'conversation'. "Get ready!" With that, she opened the box of balls in front of her and let the Bludgers fly into the air followed by the Snitch that Harry got to glimpse for only a second before it flew out of sight.

"Get set…" she grabbed the Quaffle out of the box, and held it in a throwing position, getting ready to start the match. Joe, Mike, and Akshay looked ready for it, and the Hufflepuff Chasers looked almost intimidated by their ferocious appearance.

"Go!" yelled Blaise, Madam Hooch immediately heaving the Quaffle into the air, starting the match.

"And they're off!" yelled Blaise as Joe went right for the big red ball, grabbing it before Harry even saw him move. Once the ball was in his possession, the game was practically over. All Harry had to do was sit back and watch his three magnificent Chasers work the Quaffle, and then catch the Snitch when he got the chance.

"And Gryffindor scores!" yelled Blaise, not announcing biasedly. Since Slytherin wasn't playing, he'd might as well sound happy for Gryffindor. "And then they score again! Twenty to nothing for Gryffindor! Go team!"

Harry grinned to himself. Even if his team wore their underwear on the outside, they were still excellent players. He saw them weaving through the Hufflepuff team as if they were just stationary stones in their path. But, through all of their movement, he saw a Hufflepuff team member moving much the same way. But, none of them were that good…. Harry flew a little closer to try and investigate. He could just barely make out the person's face and the little gold thing in front of him….

"Wait a minute!" yelled Harry. "That's the Snitch!" Not wasting any time to think about the situation, Harry blasted forward on his broom, right in the direction of the person and the glint of gold in front of him. Faster and faster Harry went, getting closer to it every second.

"Hah! Thought you'd finally start playing now did you!" yelled the player chasing the Snitch. Harry recognized the voice as belonging to Ernie Macmillan, the team's new Seeker, but didn't recognize his features at all.

Ernie's hair was done in a very unusual way. It was dyed a jet black all over and was down in thick dreadlocks, with a few gold streaks here and there. His face was also completely different: now, his eyes were now longer a light blue but a deep red, and Harry may have imagined it, but it looked as though he had two of his teeth replaced with fangs. The last piece of him Harry could see were his hands, and they looked as they belonged more to some sort of horrible monster than to a boy. His fingernails were long and black, and the deep red veins were practically popping out of his skin. Plus, his skin all over, especially his face and arms, was a light white, but not the wonderful light white that the moon sometimes is, this white was more like the color of puss that would seep out of a popped blister.

"What have you done to yourself?" gasped Harry, keeping one eye on him and the other on the Snitch that was slowly but surely getting further ahead of them.

"None of your business!" yelled Ernie, grinning and lashing out his foot, trying to kick Harry off of his broom. Harry did a quick spin, avoiding it.

"What the heck are you trying to do?" screamed Harry at him. "Kill me?"

Ernie just smiled.

"I was only going to put you out of commission, but sure. If you want to die, I'd be more than happy to be the bringer of your demise."

"You're a Death Eater now," said Harry slowly to him, suddenly realizing it. "Aren't you?"

"Whatever made you think that?" smirked Ernie, going slightly faster. Harry abruptly realized that even though he was on the superior broom, he was having a tough time keeping up with Ernie.

"You look like Neville," spat Harry. "Only you look more like a vampire, whereas Neville looks like a Japanese cartoon."

"Ah yes, Neville," sighed Ernie, doing a quick little magnificent spin. "One of the few non-prefect Death Eaters."

"Non-prefect?" questioned Harry. "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on, Harry, surely you've noticed it. Almost all the prefects in the school are Death Eaters. I mean, sure some of them hide it better than me, but I can't help but flaunt my new powers. Recruiting prefects is exactly what my master wants, they are the best of the best at the school, and that is what he desires: the best of the best."

"If he only wanted the best, why did he send a letter to everyone in the school at the beginning of the year?" asked Harry, watching the Snitch quickly zoom out of sight.

"For two reasons," explained Ernie, making a sharp turn to try and find the Snitch again, "one: he didn't know who the prefects were at the beginning of the year; and two, my master does not want new recruits to think he discriminates like that. Believe it or not, some prefects wouldn't join unless their inferior friends were guaranteed the chance to as well. Imagine that? They actually WANT to be around lesser minds…."

"You're disgusting," hissed Harry.

"Yes, well, joining has given me that advantage over you on the Quidditch field at least." Ernie took one hand off of his broom and pointed to his eye. "You see this? These new eyes of mine don't just look cool, they also serve a purpose. They can home in on and track anything I set them to. All I need to do is describe the Snitch and voila! I can see it even if it was behind a brick wall."

"You got new eyes?" asked Harry, feeling as though their victory was slowly slipping away.

"Yes," murmured Ernie, looking around the field. "Sure, the operation was horrible, hurt more than anything in my life. But, my master doesn't believe in anesthetic, so I had to bear it. But now, it was worth it. I can beat anyone and my master is happy."

"You're pathetic," spat Harry, hearing Blaise announce that their team had scored another ten points. He had obviously missed some other announcements while talking with Ernie as he said the score was now one hundred and forty to nothing. "Doing things just to please Voldemort…."

"Well, it doesn't matter what you think, Harry. Right now, your life is worth nothing since in the end, you will be destroyed, and I along with my master and his army, shall be victorious. Also, in the short term area, I will win this game."

"Oh yeah, how so?"

"Because," he said softly, raising his arm up, "I am holding the Snitch."

"WHAT?" yelled Harry, looking at the small, winged, golden ball in Ernie's grotesque hand.

"Ha ha!" yelled Ernie, throwing the ball at Harry. "Tricked you!" With that, he flew away, at speeds faster than Harry had ever seen before. Just as he was about to try and catch up with him, the fake Snitch that Ernie had thrown exploded in Harry's face, releasing some sort of itchy powder.

"Oh great, Scratchy Snitches," groaned Harry, resisting the urge to rub his face. "I have got to tell Fred and George to stop making those." This was no longer just a Quidditch match, this was war.

"And that's a penalty to Hufflepuff for using a foreign object during the match!" yelled Blaise. Everyone on the field, except Ernie and Harry, flew over to their foul shot positions. Harry grabbed his wand from out of his pocket, and took aim.

"Stupefy!" he yelled, watching the red beam shoot out and miss Ernie by a millimeter, though surprising him.

"And there's a penalty to Gryffindor for using magic during the match!" announced Blaise, signaling the teams to get away from the Hufflepuff goals, and fly over to the Gryffindor ones, to make their foul shot there.

"You want to play dirty, eh Harry?" yelled Ernie from across the field, taking his wand out. "Well then, prepare to get dirty! Terre Monter!" Ernie aimed his wand at the ground below Harry and the greenish-yellow beam hit it there. At first, nothing happened, but then, when Blaise announced another penalty, making the teams once again switch sides, a monstrous beast composed completely of dirt, mud and sand rose from the ground, right in front of Harry."

It was horrible sight at over sixty feet tall. The monster's arms and legs were the size of tree trunks and it had no head; only two massive, black eyes on its bulging chest. All over, the dirt was constantly flowing everywhere, as if it were composed of muddy rivers. A horrid, teeth-filled mouth suddenly appeared beneath its eyes, and it gave an unearthly roar, making everyone in the stands cheer, scream, yell and run all at the same time.

The beast took a massive swing at Harry with one of its arms. Harry flew out of the way, just in time to avoid a very grimy grave, and causing a small earthquake when its arm finally did hit the ground.

"I see you've gone one step ahead on what we've been learning in Herbology!" yelled Harry to Ernie as the monster took another swing at him. Blaise was the only person left in the crowd, and he was announcing penalties left and right, finally making the teams give up, and go over to join either Ernie or Harry in the battle.

"What should we go?" gasped Chris, flying over next to Harry as Blaise announced another penalty to Hufflepuff for not taking a penalty shot. Harry just hoped that everyone that left went to get the professors' help.

"Don't worry, Harry," said Ak just as Harry was about to suggest that they all run away. "I'll take of earth-boy here, you just make sure that Ernie kid pays for this!"

"Got it!" yelled Harry, spinning his wand around. "Akshay! Joe! Mike! Chris! Ron! Come with me, I'll need your help to take down the other team." Just saying those words filled Harry with an exhilaration like no other. He was commanding people into battle… and he liked it.

"Yeah!" they all said together flying up to him.

"Now go!" yelled Ak, taking his wand out. "Mer Monter!" Ak aimed for the ground right in front of the earth monster, who Harry and his two fighters were flying around at the moment. As soon as the light-blue beam touched the ground, a massive body of water appeared, and out from it, a water monster appeared.

It erupted from the middle of the newly created lake, like a giant wave that just didn't crash down. It quickly took form and looked almost exactly like the earth one did, only this monster was made out of flowing water rather than fluid dirt. The two beasts immediately saw each other, and instantly began fighting it out, leaving the team open to attack.

"Chris! Ron! Joe!" yelled Harry just when they were about to fly around the two monsters. "You guys go around the left side! Mike and Akshay, you take the right! I'll come up the middle!"

"Yes sir!" the five of them called back. Chris, Ron and Joe swerved off to the left, went through the two fighting beasts, and then up the other side, taking the Hufflepuff team by surprise. Simultaneously, Mike and Akshay flew down to the right, then up quickly, right below two unsuspecting Hufflepuff Chasers.

"Ernie!" yelled Harry, seeing that his team was more than a match for the rest of the Hufflepuffs. "You and me… let's go!"

"Very well then," said Ernie, moving in closer, away from his losing team. "Saber!" He held his wand out in front of him, and a black beam rose out of the top, like a sword. Though it was very dark, it seemed lighter than the blackest black Harry could think of.

"What's that spell?" yelled Harry to him, getting ready to unleash an attack.

"It's the Sword Spell," yelled Ernie back. "One of the oldest spells ever created. Traditionally, two wizards would only use that spell during the match, and it would be like a swordfight. But, I'd rather just cut you up. Notice how black mine is… the color of the sword reflects the heart of its user. The darker, the more evil."

Harry just had to try the spell now. He held his wand out in front of him, and summoned the sword from within. To his surprise, a blazing white beam did not come out, but rather a light gray one.

"Ha ha!" laughed Ernie. "So Mr. Harry Potter isn't so perfect after all!"

"Well," yelled Harry to him through gritted teeth, wondering what could make his sword darker, "at least I'll have a perfect record against you, I'll beat you at this, and then I'll beat you at the Quidditch match."

"AAARRRGGG!" yelled Ernie, gripping his wand with both of his hands and holding it over his head as he charged right at Harry, getting ready to bring it down on him with all the strength he had. As he got closer, Harry got in a defensive position, trying to be ready for anything. "TAKE THIS!"

He brought the sword down onto Harry when he was only feet away from him. But, Harry was ready. He held his sword up in a shielding position, and the only thing Ernie hit when he brought it down was Harry's beam.

"You're stronger than I thought…" groaned Ernie, trying to push Harry's sword down with his by pushing harder. As much as Harry knew he had to keep his sword there, he didn't think he could hold it there much longer.

"I can't say the same about you," groaned Harry back, trying to sound more powerful than he actually was. Now, Ernie's strength was really starting to get to him. He

could feel his muscles hurting all over and sweat was dripping down his forehead like a faucet. His brain was screaming at him to let go… but he couldn't!

Harry looked over in the direction of the two monsters for help, but Ak was busy assisting his water beast. The pressure being put on him by Ernie was almost overwhelming. Akshay, Mike, Chris, and Joe were all too far away to be heard. No one could help Harry until it was too late. The pressure wasn't almost overwhelming anymore… now it was overwhelming! Harry had to let go! He gave into his brain's demands and let his arms weaken.

Then, just as Harry was expecting to see Ernie's black sword fall down upon him and cut him into two, the most wonderful thing in the world happened. Out of nowhere, a Bludger hit Ernie right in the face.

The effect of the impact was instantaneous. Ernie mumbled something to himself, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he fell all the way down to the sandy ground, along with his sword. Harry breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness this is still a Quidditch match," he said to himself.

"And that's a penalty to Gryffindor for-"

"Oh will you shut it already Blaise!" yelled Harry to him, flying over to see his team. Blaise became quiet, and he saw that the entire Hufflepuff team had joined their Seeker on the ground. Unfortunately, so did Ron, Akshay, Joe and Mike. Only Chris and Ak were still up, and they looked as though they were in really bad shape. Chris had hex marks all over him, his right arm and leg were moving spastically, and he looked as though he was going to fall off of his broom… which is exactly what he did a second later.

"Ak!" yelled Harry, looking over at the two monsters that were still duking it out, and keeping his eyes peeled for the Snitch so he could end this highly unorthodox match. "How's it going?"

"Not good!" he yelled back, looking about the same as Chris did. "A few of the Hufflepuffs hit me along with this dirt beast here. Speaking of which, he-"

But, Harry never heard Ak's last line. Just then, his water monster delivered the final blow to its opponent, causing him to stumble around for a second, then beginning to fall over, right where Harry and Ak were.

Suddenly, the thing seemed a lot taller than Harry originally thought it was, seeing as it was about to collapse on top of him. Harry flew as fast as he could out of the way, but it was no use. A second later, he was on the ground, feeling his entire body being crushed all over by the intense weight of the monster. Only his head was sticking out from it.

"Ak!" gasped Harry, trying to reach his wand.

"Yeah…" he moaned back just as the dirt forming the monster stopped flowing and remained motionless… like it should, beginning to fall back to the ground.

"Are you under this thing too?"

"Yeah…" he gasped back again, sounding as if he were in immense pain, which was perfectly understandable. Harry, though, still had work to do. He had to find the Snitch so he could officially end this anarchic match. He scanned the ground around him for any sign of it… and suddenly found it! But, when he saw where it was, Harry groaned to himself and tried to smack his own head.

The Snitch was in Ernie's hand.


	16. Chapter 16 three diemensional dueling

Chapter 16- Three Dimensional Dueling

It wasn't much longer before a group of professors came down from the school and helped everyone out of their horrible situations. They cleaned up the leftover dirt from the earth monster and banished the water one back to the sea. Madam Pomfrey brought all fourteen players to the Hospital Wing; all the way Blaise was prancing about and singing about Hufflepuff's ten point victory. Apparently, he had taken less of a liking to Gryffindor after Harry told him to shut up. Things only got worse when Professor McGonagall said she was going to take one hundred points away from each house for appalling and expulsion-worthy behavior due to their spur of the moment fight.

But, it wasn't all bad. From their work together, Harry's team now had a magnificent camaraderie and Harry felt as though he was part of a family when around the six of them, especially when he was all bandaged up like a mummy and sharing a small hospital bed with one of his teammates. His relations especially improved with Ak, now reaching the point of almost a Ron, Hermione, or even a Malfoy friendship.

Also, the news of the match spread like wildfire around the school and even though Harry's team lost, they were still crowned as the winners for beating Hufflepuff in the duel that took place. Harry's reputation was back to its usual insanely high standard that it used to be before he lost to Malfoy in the club and Ak in the card game match.

The unusual Quidditch match additionally turned students attention momentarily away from the cancelled field trip, though not for long. They needed something else to distract their minds… and they were going to get it. Thanks to the new schedule, another Dueling Club meeting was scheduled for the end of the week, and everyone in the school, especially Harry, was looking forward to it. Though… he was also concerned. What if someone tried to steal Hermione's Bracelet again? What if Voldemort got it?

"Shouldn't you just leave it in your room?" Harry asked her before they left the common room that day, a few minutes before that meeting was going to start. She rubbed the Bracelet and glared at him.

"No," she said forcefully.

"Why not?"

"Because…" she said, sounding as if she were trying to make something up on the top of their head. "Because… if I leave it in my room, it will be even easier to steal! Someone could just open up my drawer and take it out."

"But, why don't you just put a charm on the drawer, then? Like Harry did?" suggested Ron, polishing up his wand a bit.

"Oh yeah, you saw what happened when Harry put the supposedly good charm on it," retorted Hermione. "Neville took it as easily from it as if it was a normal drawer."

"But… with the proper precautions-"

"Oh my! Look at he time!" yelled Hermione suddenly, looking at her non-existent watch. "We're going to be late if we don't hurry!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged.

"Women and their jewelry," whispered Ron to Harry as they stepped out of the room. "Don't come between the two." Harry laughed out loud and Hermione gave him a piercing gaze again. He just cleared his throat, looked up, and they continued walking.

It wasn't much longer before they arrived at the Great Hall, most of the club already there, as usual. But, there wasn't any sign of Professor Flitwick yet.

"Harry!" Cho called to him when he arrived.

"Hello Cho!" said Harry back, stepping away from Ron and Hermione and over to her. "How are you?"

"Fine as long as you're around," she said back, tossing her hair and causing a few giggles from the younger students in the crowd. "Anyways, do you know what's going to happen for this duel?"

"Sure do," said Harry, feeling proud of himself. This time, Professor Flitwick had visited him when he was in the Hospital Wing, while Harry was trying to figure out the best spell to use to make his bedpan fly out and land on Ernie's head. They talked about and discussed how the next meeting should be run, and they both agreed that the new guerrilla tactics way of fighting was a huge success. So, Harry just decided to improve on an already good thing.

"Oh really? So, what's this one going to be like?"

"Well, it was really inspired by our date," grinned Harry, kicking the floor.

"Oh no! You're not going to light the floor on fire or bring out dragons, are you?"

"What?" said Harry, a little confused. "No. I was inspired by the end of our date, when I flew you home."

"Oh… that part of it."

"Anyways, I thought everyone here would like to experience flight, so we decided to make this a three dimensional guerrilla duel. Instead of only being able to move left and right and forward and backwards, now we'll all be able to move up and down as well, literally adding a whole new dimension to the game."

"Sounds like fun!" exclaimed Cho, just as tiny Professor Flitwick appeared in front of the doors, looking almost out of breath.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized quickly. "But this trip cancellation has really screwed up everyone's schedules here." Once the word 'trip' left his mouth, a giant groan escaped from every person in the crowd. "Oh come on! It's not that bad. All you have to do is wait a few more months and you'll go anyways. But, now let's forget all about that pyramid nonsense and have a good dueling match!"

Everyone in the crowd cheered, though the field trip was still on their minds… and would be for quite a while.

"Anyways, your captain and I have quite a good match planned for you today! Come in and let's get started!" With that, he magically opened the doors to the Great Hall, revealing a completely empty room, just like it was at the last club meeting. Only this time, on one side of the room there were twenty magical skateboards, each a different color.

"For this duel!" announced Flitwick, closing the massive doors when everyone was inside. "We shall once again be practicing our guerrilla tactics, but this time it shall be even more exciting." He waved an arm over to the side of the room with all of the skateboards. "You see here, over at this wall, there are twenty Soaring Skateboards, each of which might I add is different from every other, and is imported directly from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Each of you will take one and duel on it. If you fall off of your board or if you touch the ground at all, you shall be instantly teleported to me, in a small, clear room where you can observe the rest of the duel but not participate in it." He pointed a finger to a top corner of the room where there was an almost invisible room hanging above everything.

"Now," he continued, "if you'd all please, take a board." He waved his arm in the direction of the assorted skateboards and the group of students ran over to them, picking their favorite. Harry saw that Neville grabbed the one to the far right, a pure black board with two big, red eyes on the top that occasional blinked; and Ernie took the one next to it, one that had flames painted on it that actually moved and roared. They high fived each other and Harry felt almost sick. He chose one that had a picture of white stars on a blue background, and Mike took the one next to his: a white one with black and red Japanese characters all over it. He smiled and began rubbing the board, drooling all over it. Malfoy went for one with a green, hissing snake on it, but Ron, however, was trampled by the running crow, and was left with the only one available when everyone else had chosen theirs: a pink one with a picture of a smiling bunny on the top. Harry burst out laughing when he saw Ron get on it.

"Shut up Harry," he said to him, trying to get his balance, which wasn't very difficult, seeing as it had no wheels.

"Now, I know there are some of you here that have never used these before," said Professor Flitwick, putting his hands up. "But, it is very easy, much easier than using a broomstick. All you have to do is first, step on it. Then, to get it started, say 'up'."

Everyone got in a line and stepped up onto their boards. Almost in unison, they all yelled the same word.

"UP!"

Immediately, the entire club rose to the air, about a foot off the ground. For some, though, even that was too much, and they fell off.

"Now now!" said Professor Flitwick, helping a few kids back on. "That's what the safety is for, to help you stay on when you go higher. To set the safety, just say 'safety', and then a number from one to ten afterwards, depending on how secure you want to be. Now, when you'd normally use these things, you would use the ten setting, of course. But, it is nearly impossible to knock anyone off at that setting, so we'll all just use five instead."

"Safety five!" yelled everyone again, almost immediately after Flitwick had finished talking. Harry felt the board getting tighter on his feet, as if glue had just been poured between his shoes and the top of the board, making it nearly impossible to move his legs. But, Harry found, if he tried hard enough, he could still pull them right off.

"Controlling the boards is even easier," continued Flitwick. "Once the safety is on, the board makes kind of a small telepathic connection with your brain. All you need to do is think that you want to go left, right, forward, backward, up or down and you will. Go ahead! Try it out!"

In his mind, Harry just thought of going forward, the word, along with the sensation it usually gives. Before he had even completed half of his thought, the board shot forward, at speeds rivaling a broomstick. Harry looked behind him and saw that everyone was now very spread out. Some were up, left, right, and one, Joe, collided with the wall.

"Meh okay!" he announced to the not-really-caring crowd, giving double thumbs up, rubbing his back, and then going forward.

"Alright then!" said Professor Flitwick happily, doing a small spin in the air. "Spread out and I will set up a few obstacles!" He took out his wand, muttered a spell, and out of the tip flew hundreds of multicolored beams, flowing off in every direction. Each beam formed its own random shaped obstacle: some were cylinders, come were walls, others were even shaped like people, but they all were hovering in the air, moving around a bit, like an army of balloons. They covered most of the air, making it like the forest they dueled in last time. The barriers would make good places to hide… maybe even too good.

"Hermione," said Harry telepathically to her, using his Animagus abilities. "I think you should come a little closer to me… just in case someone tries to steal your Bracelet again. We can stay together for a little while and if nothing happens, we can split up again."

"Alright," she said back, not looking at him and flying a bit closer.

"Hey Harry!" Malfoy called to him telepathically. "Is it going to come down to me and you again?"

"You know it," Harry called back. "Unless Neville or Ernie takes care of you first."

"Hah! Those two!" laughed Malfoy, maintaining a straight face on his body. "They're barely up to the point that I was at last year."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember those spells I used on you last year, the ones where I grew four arms, made the field an inferno, and made you feel like a hundred dementors were around?"

"Yeah," shuddered Harry, remembering all too well.

"Well, believe it or not, those are very advanced spells. The stuff that You-Know-Who has taught those two is not even up to that level yet."

"So you mean, if that's what you knew last year, now you have an insanely massive arsenal of dark magic spells at your disposal?"

"You're lucky you have me as a friend and not an enemy," chuckled Malfoy back.

"And now," announced Flitwick, breaking up their conversation, "for a final touch!" He muttered another spell and aimed right at the ground. A massive pool of fire overflowed out of the tip of his wand and right onto the floor of the Great Hall, turning it into a giant sea of flames and molten lava. Everyone went another ten feet higher up, just to escape the heat.

"Harry!" Cho yelled to him from not too far away. "I thought you said you weren't going to light the ground on fire!"

"It's just a little addition to the playing field, to remind you not to touch the ground," Professor Flitwick said, flying around it and making sure it was hot enough. "Now, I don't think any of you will forget!" He flew over to his little safety box in the top corner of the room. "Are you all ready to begin? On your marks… get set… go!"

Harry immediately shot off, aiming for a large, nearby floating wall. He hid behind it, and waited for Hermione. He didn't have to wait too long for her to show up; she came over and flew right next to him.

"Do you really think someone's going to try and steal it again?" she asked, holding onto her Bracelet as if it was the most valuable item in the world, which it almost was.

"I don't know…" said Harry, quickly peering over the side of the wall and watching a small fight going on between Justin and Ginny. She easily beat him with a single spell, and he collapsed to the fiery ground where he was teleported to the safe room with Flitwick.

"Well… what are we going to do?" she asked impatiently.

"Just wait here for a while," said Harry, looking back.

"Oh come on!" she whined. "I want to go out there and fight!" "Who are you and what have you down with Hermione?" Harry asked. Hermione was never that assertive.

"I don't know…" she sighed, flying around a bit. "Just being up here… right in the middle of a meeting… I just want to fight!"

"Well, if nothing happens for a little while, we can go out."

"Fine…"

"SURPRISE!" yelled Ernie and Neville suddenly, popping out of nowhere in front of Harry and Hermione. They both had wide and evil grins on their faces, and their wands were in attack position. The two of them came up so quickly, Harry had no time to react to their surprise attacks.

"Pagos!" they bother yelled together, Neville aiming for Harry and Ernie aiming for Hermione. An icy blue beam erupted from their wands, hitting them both and making Harry feel as though his entire body was no more than a big ice cube.

"What do you want?" yelled Harry, surprised that he could still use his mouth.

"I think we both all know the answer to that," spat Neville, coming a little closer to Harry and eyeing Hermione's Bracelet.

"You can't have it!" Harry yelling, knowing well that he couldn't do anything to stop them.

"Oh yeah?" said Ernie mockingly, hovering closer to Hermione. "Why not?"

"Because it's hers!" yelled someone else. The four of them looked up, and saw Malfoy suddenly drop down from above right down onto Ernie and Neville. He did a fancy turn in the air, hitting Neville's face with his board, and then punching Ernie's nose with his fist while his body was still horizontal. The two of them spat blood in the air, and Harry saw their eyes roll back into their head as they started falling to the floor.

"Malfoy!" yelled Harry and Hermione together, still frozen. "You saved us… again!"

"Yeah, well, I don't want You-Know-Who to get the Bracelet any more than you do," he admitted, performing the counter curse on the two of them. Harry felt the blood start flowing in the body below his head again, and he could move.

"Thanks for saving us, Malfoy," said Harry, moving around in the air a bit. "But, you do know, we are still in a duel, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But, friendships and beating Voldemort are things that are more important than winning a silly duel. Besides… everyone knows I'm better than you anyway."

"Yeah right!" yelled Harry. "I beat you last year at the final tournament!" "But I beat you at the last meeting."

"Yeah, well I-"

"Enough!" yelled Hermione, putting her hands out and signaling for the two boys to stop bickering. "This is more than just a duel now. Voldemort has a strong presence here, and we have to try and be wary of it. If it wasn't for you, Malfoy, he could be making the Immortal Potion right now."

"No he couldn't," said Harry. "I still have the Ring!"

"That's beside the point!" she said, shaking her head and arms. "Let's just take it slow and make sure that no one else tries to get the Bracelet, okay? Then, when it comes down to the three of us, we'll know everything's okay and we can just duel."

"Sounds more like a way to guarantee that you make it to the end rather than a way to help protect the Bracelet," snickered Malfoy, flying over Hermione's head. "Why don't you just give one of us the Bracelet?"

"No," hissed Hermione. "Let's just get back in the game, and see what happens."

"Fine," shrugged Harry. He peered over the large wall that they were hiding behind again to see if the coast was clear. It pretty much was; except for Joe who was flying around aimlessly, wand out, and looking for a fight. "The coast is clear… except for underwear on the outside boy."

"Alright, we'll go out as a group," announced Malfoy. "Follow me."

He quickly hovered to the head of the two and went out slowly, with Harry and Hermione following behind. Not wanting to feel as though he was following behind Malfoy, Harry shot off to the right of him, and yelled at Joe.

"Ha ha!" he yelled at him, taking out his wand. "I see you!"

"Now you don't!" grinned Joe, tapping himself with his wand and disappearing suddenly. Harry stopped in midair.

"Woah, where'd he go?"

"He turned himself invisible," said Malfoy, looking around.

"But Invisibility Charms are far too advanced for Second Years!" exclaimed Hermione, looking around nervously.

"Joe!" Harry yelled. "Come on out and fight!"

"Harry!" yelled Hermione, looking as though she were struggling with some sort of invisible force. "Something's got my Bracelet!"

Harry looked over at her, but he was too late. By the time she was in his sights, the Bracelet had been forced off of her arm, and was zipping around the room, flying at insane speeds.

"Ah!" gasped Hermione. "Hurry and get it!"

Harry didn't even give time to respond. He shot off right after the Bracelet that was zooming around in midair and giving everything he got to try and catch up to it. Despite the fact that the Bracelet was enchanted, it was quite slow and it wasn't too much longer before Harry was right behind it. He extended his arms as much as he could, to try and grab it. When he could just feel the cold metal touch the tips of his fingers, he grabbed hold of it, stopping it right where it was.

Harry gripped the bracelet as hard as he could, so much that the encrusted gems on it were digging into his flesh, almost to the point of bleeding. But, it seemed every second, the force pulling on the other side of Bracelet was getting stronger. So, knowing he was fighting a losing battle, Harry did the only thing he could do: let go.

As soon as his fingers let loose of it, the Bracelet flew high into to the air, not being held onto by anything. Harry watched it soar up to its maximum height, then begin to fall.

"Malfoy!" Harry yelled to him, seeing that he was closer to the falling item. "Get the Bracelet!"

Malfoy nodded and flew right at it, trying to estimate about where it would fall to. He stopped when he was just above the fiery ground, arms up and hands open, ready to catch it. The Bracelet fell, faster and faster towards his wide open palms, until suddenly, an instant before he would have caught it, another force flew by and whisked it off to the side.

Malfoy, a little shaken from not catching it, shot after the Bracelet again, not letting it get more than a few feet away from him. He extended his arms out, ready to grab it, when just then, the Bracelet was 'thrown' by the invisible force through the air, where it was then caught by another force that was well out of Malfoy's range that started flying away with it. It was as if there were invisible people all over, playing a very serious game of keep away….

"That's it!" yelled Harry out loud. "Invisible people! Malfoy!"

"Yeah?" he asked, looking a little tired.

"Do you know any spells that can turn invisible people visible again?"

"Sure do," Malfoy grinned, understanding. He ripped his wand out of his pocket and aimed it in the general direction of everywhere. "Pasvoir!"

A small, almost invisible orb appeared at the tip of his wand that quickly grew to the size of a basketball, then a human, then an elephant, then unimaginable size, almost

filling the entire room. It gave off some sort of electric wave as it expanded, bringing everything that used to be invisible back to the real world.

Harry looked around for signs of anyone, and didn't have to look very hard. Flying all around them was the rest of his Quidditch team, excluding Ak. Joe, Mike, Chris and Akshay were all hovering about, throwing the Bracelet to each other and keeping it well out of the way of Harry or Malfoy. Apparently, they hadn't yet realized that they were no longer invisible and that Harry and Malfoy could see them perfectly.

Just as Mike received the Bracelet from Joe, Harry shot at him, faster than he ever had before. Mike turned to him, still thinking he was invisible, and merely threw it to Chris, thinking that Harry would just now turn his attention to the other 'invisible' force. But, Harry did not such thing. He just kept going straight for Mike and grabbed him by the neck.

"What do you think you're doing?" spat Harry, lifting him up slightly.

"What do you think we're doing?" grinned Mike, not having a bit of a look of surprise or fear on his face. Harry took a closer look at him, and saw that there was something very different about him… his eyes. He had no pupils, irises, nothing. All there was were two white circles. They were definitely not acting on their own… someone else was controlling them, like last time.

But, Harry had a more pressing issue. He could ponder over what was controlling them later. Right now, he had to get the Bracelet back before one of them took it to Voldemort.

He used a stupefy spell on Mike and watched him fall fairly quickly to the flaming ground, then be teleported to Flitwick's safety room which now had more than half of the entire club inside it.

Harry looked at the remaining three children, each of whom seemed to have realized that they were no longer invisible. They threw the Bracelet one last time, to Joe, who shot across the field with it, trying to reach an open window in the side of the Great Hall and escape through it. Harry flew off right after him, to try and catch up, but Malfoy got to him first. He grabbed Joe by the leg and used some sort of Dark Spell that turned his entire body to Stone when he touched Joe with his wand. The transformation of flesh to Stone started at Joe's feet, and worked its way up to his head rather slowly.

Just as his arm was about to become a rock, Joe used every ounce of strength he had and threw the Bracelet to Akshay. He shot off after it, getting ready to catch it, but Harry was faster with his wand.

"Accio Bracelet!" he yelled, aiming right for it. The Bracelet immediately changed its direction and began soaring right over to Harry's hand. He caught it in his palm and held onto it tight. This, however, did not stop Akshay's desire to get it. He gave a hiss, showed off his teeth, and flew right at Harry, arms and hands extended out.

Harry just gave a sigh and shot a Stupefy Spell right at Akshay, hitting him long before he would have gotten to Harry. The spell immediately knocked him out and he fell to the floor unconscious.

Now, the only one left was Chris, and he didn't look as though he was in any hurry to try and attack Harry or Malfoy. He just spun around and shot off. But, he wasn't as fast as either of his opponents, and Harry quickly grabbed hold of him. Malfoy arrived soon after.

"Let go of me!" he yelled, trying to shake Harry's magically enhanced grip off.

"Not until you tell us who has possessed you!" yelled Malfoy, looking as though he was trying as hard as he could to resist the urge to use some sort of torture spell on him.

"Fine!" yelled Chris, stopping his shaking. "I'll tell you who it was."

Just then, his face gave a quick, spastic shake and his eyes turned back to normal.

"Well…?" asked Harry, still not letting go.

"Well what?" asked Chris, looking a little dazed.

"Who was controlling you?" demanded Malfoy, gritting his teeth.

"What?" asked Chris, rubbing his forehead. "What are you talking about?"

"It seems as though whoever was controlling him has just stopped," said Malfoy, looking around, as if trying to see a ghost or something that may have popped out of his head.

"What? Someone was controlling me?"

"Did you recognize the spell used on him?" asked Harry, ignoring Chris and letting go of his leg. Just like last time, whoever had been controlling them removed the spell just before they were about to be told the answer to their question.

"Yeah, but it's not one any of the kids here would know," said Malfoy, looking like he was thinking hard. "It's one that I've only heard of… one that You-Know-Who only teaches to his most elite members. It's an advanced version of the Imperius Curse. It is completely unresistable, that is, once it is cast on you, you can't get it off, now matter what. In addition to that, it also puts some of your strength into the person you're controlling. That would explain why they were all able to put an Invisibility Charm on themselves."

"So, who here could have put it on them?"

"No one we know," said Malfoy, looking down. "Especially not Neville or Ernie. Not only did the person who put the curse on them know the extremely advanced spell, but they were powerful enough to put it on four people at once."

"Excuse me!" interjected Chris suddenly. "But, what's going on here?"

"Oh yeah, that reminds me," said Harry. "We're having a duel Chris, and I'm afraid you've lost. Stupefy!"

Before Chris even realized what was going to happen, the red beam shot out of Harry's wand and hit him, sending him to the fiery ground.

"Now let's find Hermione and give her the Bracelet back," said Harry. Malfoy nodded, and they started off again in search of her. They checked behind the wall where the three of them were hiding previously and sure enough, she was there, biting her nails and hovering from side to side, pacing in midair.

"Hermione, we've got it back!" announced Harry, holding it up to show her. She immediately looked over and her eyes grew wide with a hungry look.

"Gimme that!" she yelled, shooting over to him, ripping the Bracelet out of his hands and quickly putting it back on her arm.

"Ahh," she said, slipping it back on. "That's better."

"Well," sighed Harry, looking around just to be sure. "I guess you were right, Hermione. It has come down to just the three of us."

"NOT EXACTLY!" yelled Neville, one again, coming out of nowhere right on top of the three of them. He fell onto Malfoy's shoulders and squeezed his legs around his neck. He pointed his wand right at Malfoy's chest from his new position.

"Petrificus Totalus!" he yelled. Malfoy's body immediately went stiff and he fell to the ground, was gobbled up by the flames, and then sent to the safety room.

"NO!" yelled Harry.

"I know," sighed Neville sarcastically. "It was a crude spell… but hey, it worked… didn't it?"

"Stupefy!" yelled Harry, shooting backwards a little and aiming right for Neville. The spell blasted from his wand, but too late; he easily dodged it.

"Hah! You'll need better than that to defeat me!" yelled Neville, zooming around. "Something like that may have beaten Ernie, but not me. I'm a year ahead of him."

"Yeah, but you're still a million years behind me!" yelled Harry, going backwards even more, so he would have time to avoid anything that Neville shot at him.

"Think so?" asked Neville, stroking his wand a bit. "Then take this! Onino Hebi!"

A massive, flaming snake erupted out of Neville's wand. It gave an ear shattering hiss and showed off it's mouthful of fangs that was dripping with a light-green venom. It's eyes were the only thing besides its teeth that were not on fire, and they were pure black and never blinking. Once they caught sight of Harry, they didn't move.

The snake lashed out at Harry, like some sort of horrible fire whip. Harry backed away just in time to miss it's deadly bite, but the snake did not look any less determined. It merely doubled its length and tried again. Harry was quickly running out of space to back up into. He had to think of something else….

"Tri Oplo!" yelled Harry quickly, having an idea and aiming right for its head. The three spheres hit, and the snake gave a painful hiss. Harry took this opportunity to quickly dash across the field and stop right behind Neville.

"What do you think you're doing?" he spat as the snake recovered from the hit and turned around to find its victim.

"Let's see how loyal your snake is!" yelled Harry, giving Neville a hard push. The snake immediately turned its attention to this new source of movement and lashed out right at its new target. Harry quickly hovered backwards, out of the way of its attack.

"AAAHHH!" yelled Neville as the snake tore a piece of his flesh off. Just as the snake reared back, to get ready for another bite, Harry decided to show a little mercy.

"Stupefy!" he yelled, hitting the distracted Neville. As soon as the spell hit, Neville went limp and his snake disappeared. Harry watched him fall all the way down to the ground, then disappear.

"Well," sighed Harry to himself, "at least now I don't have to fight Malfoy."

Harry scanned the area for anyone else, to see if anyone was left to fight. Maybe he had just won the duel and he didn't even know it!

"Fucillius!" came a voice from not too far away. Evidently, there were still others on the field. Harry quickly, but stealthily flew over to investigate. He grabbed onto a pear-shaped obstacle and peered over it. There, he saw Hermione engaged in a duel with not one, not two, but three others! It was her against Ak, Tci and Aylar, and she didn't look as though she was going to win.

"Stupefy!" yelled Aylar, delivering the final blow. Hermione collapsed and fell to the ground. But, instead of starting to fight each other as Harry would have expected them to, the three of them just hovered there, as if waiting for someone else to come along. What was going on? Harry decided not to question it right now and to just take advantage of the opportunity of all three of them being sitting ducks.

"Siragus!" he yelled, creeping up over the top of the obstacle and aiming right for the middle of the three. Before any of them realized what was going on, there was a massive explosion in midair, right where Harry had aimed for. When the dust cleared soon after, Harry saw that Aylar and Ak were gone. Only Tci was left, and he looked in bad shape.

"What were you doing?" Harry asked him as he flew down. "You're not supposed to have teams in this. Why didn't the three of you fight each other after you beat Hermione?"

Tci just gave him a dazed look. Blood was all over his face, as was ash and dust. Evidently, the explosion had hit him directly since he was in the middle of the three, and done the most damage to him.

"We can't… do… each other…" he gasped, looking as though he might fall any second, which is exactly what he did an instant later.

"Oh well," Harry shrugged to himself. He remembered that he, Malfoy, and Hermione had kind of been a team before, and that maybe Aylar, Tci, and Ak were doing the same. They were, after all, three of the best fighters there. But, Harry, Hermione and Malfoy had promised to fight each other when everyone else had been defeated….

Suddenly, Harry felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a grinning Ak behind him, with his wand pointing directly at Harry's chest. Before he had time to react, Ak used a Stupefy on him and Harry's world turned black all around him as he fell down towards the fiery ground.

For once, neither himself or Malfoy had won the duel.

A/N: First authors note ever. I must admit myself disappointed. This story hardly got ANY readers. Maybe it just sucked. Or maybe the chapters were too long.. idk. Thanks for the people who did read this story. I hope you enjoyed.


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